Cycling Ireland former president PJ Nolan is recovering after a violent attack near his farm in Co Meath.
Former Cycling Ireland president and national cyclocross champion, PJ Nolan, has said he was lucky to be alive after an unprovoked road rage attack.
Last Sunday week he was left unconscious on a road close
to his home in Navan, Co Meath, after being attacked by another driver.
Nolan, from a very well known cycling family synonymous
with Navan Road Club, told the Meath Chronicle he was driving home from the
shops when the attack occurred.
He said he met a driver in another car travelling towards
him while texting. This forced Nolan into the ditch to avoid the oncoming
vehicle.
As a result, his shopping was thrown around the back of
his car. He said he got out to fix it when the other driver came back to where
he was and attacked him.
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“I got out to have a look at my groceries to see what
happened (then) this big guy comes over and starts shouting abusively in some
foreign language,” he said.
“Next thing I know; someone picked me up off the road
sometime later,” he said. “The first person I remember talking to was my
neighbour.
“He picked me up because I was lying on the road. I could have been run over. I was lying across the road; cars could have run over me.”
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However, while his neighbour came to his aid, Nolan had
suffered a head injury and was badly concussed.
“I’m still concussed. I can’t work, I couldn’t drive now, I wouldn’t be able to,” he said of his current situation.
“It’s very annoying when you think all you are doing is coming home from the shops on a Sunday evening and somebody comes along and does that to you.
“Obviously it wasn’t normal behaviour; I’ve never seen that type of behaviour before,” he said, adding he was stunned a minor road incident had resulted in such violence.
As well as being a former Cycling Ireland president and a former elite national cyclocross champion, PJ Nolan is also currently a member of the Olympic Council of Ireland.
His brother John was also a top level cyclist and John's son Sean has followed the family's cycling tradition; representing Ireland this year at the World Cyclocross Championships.
PJ Nolan was taken to hospital from the scene last Sunday week and after being kept in overnight was discharged. He now faces a period of recovery for his concussion.
Nolan added he had worked as an election observer in flashpoint countries all over the world yet nothing had ever happened to him in those places.
“I am lucky, I’m still here. But it does make you very wary about any interaction with some people,” he said.
“It’s just a case of mad, road rage, totally unprovoked. I worked in war zones for the UN and survived. Yet you’re 300 yards from your own home and this happens to you.”
Gardai in Navan are investigating the incident. Everybody on stickybottle wishes PJ Nolan a speedy and full recovery.
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