Having been a motorbike marshal on a huge number of bike races including the FBD Rás, Nissan International Classic and countless one-day events throughout the country, Colm Cullen had made many friends in the cycling world.
The death has occurred of Colm Cullen, a member of the Garda who became a regular fixture at bike races throughout the country for many years.
Colm was attached to the Garda Traffic Bureau and was introduced to cycling over 30 years ago by former rider and fellow Garda member Ben McKenna.
Ben, who is also deceased, won the Rás in 1959 and when attached to the Traffic Bureau as a sergeant he introduced some of his colleagues to bike racing, with many going on to assist in motorbike marshalling.
Among that group was Colm Cullen, with others such as Johnny Galvin still going strong and very active in assisting the marshalling effort on races such as the Rás.
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Unfortunately Colm’s stint as a motorbike marshal on the Rás, Nissan International Classic and many events on the domestic scene was cut short by a motorbike accident that left him paralysed from the waist down.
Colm was driving his bike to the Garda College in Templemore when he collided with a car which did a sudden u-turn on a country road outside Roscrea in 1992.
He was thrown into a ditch and the force of the impact severed his spinal cord.
However, Colm was determined to make the most of the hand that was dealt to him and remained serving in the Garda with the Traffic Bureau despite being in a wheelchair.
He used his own case as the basis for his talks to the public promoting road safety, especially around motorbike use on the roads.
Colm may have been paralysed in a motorbike accident but he continued to serve in the Garda force up until his retirement.
He always said training to encourage basic awareness about road conditions and the possibility of meeting potholes and sunken manhole covers at speed was needed.
“That’s what’s sadly lacking, is proper training,” he said at one of his many talks back in 2005.
“It is crucial to saving lives that we have compulsory training. It is imperative that somebody, the Government and all the different agencies involved, I don’t care who does it, it just has to be done.”
On that occasion 10 years ago he also spoke about his own accident.
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“I was airlifted from Nenagh Hospital to the Mater and they confirmed I was paralysed,” he said.
Originally from Dublin but now living in Naas, Co Kildare, he said the crash had a major effect on his life.
“It’s like everything, good and bad, and things get better as you learn to adapt. But at the start, life was not good and it was just ’Why me?”’
After his crash Colm set about his rehabilitation with a great attitude.
And not only did he return to his job in the Garda – though obviously no longer able to ride a motorbike – he also got back to working at bike races very quickly.
Colm pictured with Larry Mullen from U2 at a Road Safety Authority launch back in 2004.
From a car he took on the job of chief marshal on many of the races he had worked on performing motorbike marshal duties before his accident.
Colm would drift away from bike racing eventually but he kept in contact with many of the people involved in the cycling scene and was held in very high regard.
He continued to work in the Garda force, always staying with the Traffic Bureau, until his retirement in 2010.
Colm sadly passed away last Thursday, October 1st, after a short illness. He is survived by his sons Harry and Darren.
Former Garda member Kevin Donohoe said of Colm at his funeral mass: “He never once complained, he never once said ‘Why me?’
“He never once felt sorry for himself. He continued on with a mentality hewn out of rock.”
Colm’s son Darren described his late father as a “legend and an inspiration to everyone who knew him”.
“His strength and courage made him the rock that people leaned on,” he said.
Son Harry echoed those sentiments: “It’s going to be incredibly hard to say goodbye to my dad but it’s going to be impossible to forget him.”
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