One of the good guys: Former international rider, national champion and the head of one of Ireland's best known cycling families, Christy Kimmage has sadly passed away.
The Irish cycling community was today mourning the sad passing of Dubliner Christy Kimmage.
A former national road race champion, Christy was one of the very best riders of his generation and one of the first trailblazers of the sport here to try his hand at racing abroad.
His sons Paul, Raphael, Kevin and Christopher were all also international riders, with Paul having ridden as a professional rider before becoming a well known journalist and author.
Christy, who lived bringing up his family in Kilmore, north Dublin, for many years had been living in north county Dublin in the latter part of his life with wife Angela, whom he first met in 1957 and married four years later.
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A hugely popular figure all over the country during his racing days, Christy began his love affair with the bike like many of his generation; on hostelling trips that took him away from Dublin to the far corners of the country.
Christy, far left, at the start of the World Road Race Championships in Reims, France, in 1958 (Photo with thanks to Ronan Fox)
And after completing his successful racing career, he began the Tara Road Club in whose colours Raphael, Paul and Kevin won most of the major races in Ireland.
His youngest son Christopher raced with Dublin Wheelers, where Christy Snr had first started out in the late 1950s.
In 1958, having won most of the major races on the Irish scene, Christy was narrowly denied victory in the Viking Trophy during the international Isle of Man week.
After consulting with then pro rider Shay Elliott, he decided to move to France and join ACBB the following season.
He would return to Dublin two weeks later, having decided that life in a foreign country was not for him.
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The Irish team relaxing before the '58 Worlds in France. Left to right; Denis Whelan (Obelisk Wheelers), Peter Dowling (Antlers CC), Tommy Talbot (East Tyrone CC), Christy Kimmage of Dublin Wheelers CC (Photo with thanks to Ronan Fox)
More than two decades later, after his second eldest son Raphael had won the Viking Trophy, both he and brother Paul set off to Paris to the same ACBB outfit to try to become professional riders.
A crash shortly after returning to Ireland from France saw Christy sidelined for two seasons.
But when he returned to competition he would become national road race champion in 1961 in Markethill, Co Armagh aged 23 years. He had taken silver in both 1958 and 1959.
He continued racing until he was 34 years old before working with many Irish teams racing abroad and mentoring young riders, including of course his four sons.
Christy Kimmage with JJ McCormack at a 50 mile time trial on the Navan Road in north Dublin in 1958; Christy is pictured left, repairing a puncture. He was aged 20 years at the time (Photo with thanks to Ronan Fox)
Last year Christy made a brief appearance on his son’s Rough Rider documentary about the state of pro cycling.
While his appearance was brief, Christy had lost none of his sense of humour.
He told the camera that his son Paul - famed for his intensity - “was born perfect in an imperfect world”; all done while with a wide grin on his face while his bemused journalist offspring looked on.
He was one of a small group of riders – including Peter Doyle and Liam Horner - that took on almost mythical status such was their ability and record of quality wins spanning many years.
From all of us here at stickybottle, we'd like to extend our condolences to Angela and the rest of the Kimmage family.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
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