Jim McQuaid, Fausto Coppi and Paddy McQuaid (President Irish Fed CRE) on the Italian's arrival at Dublin Airport in 1959
By Graham Healy
Over the years, a number of winners of the Giro d’Italia have raced in Ireland including Laurent Fignon, Marco Pantani and obviously, Stephen Roche.
The first Giro winner to take part in a race in Ireland though was way back in 1959 when Fausto Coppi took part in a series of track races in Santry.
Santry Stadium had opened the previous year and Billy Morton, the man who the stadium is now named after, organised a world-class athletics meeting which would see the Australian runner Herb Elliott set a new world record for the mile.
Morton then decided he would also like to see the best cyclists in the world competing in Santry, as the stadium also had a 515-yard tarmac cycling track.
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The following year, Morton asked Shay Elliott if he could help sign up some big names for the track meeting set for June.
Amongst those that Elliott persuaded to come to Dublin was Fausto Coppi. Other top professionals including Roger Hassenforder and André Darrigade would also compete in the two-day event.
The meeting nearly didn’t take place though as on the eve of the first day’s racing two bombs went off at the track.
It was never established who had planted the bombs, but Elliott suspected the culprits may have taken exception to the appearance of his friend and British rider Brian Robinson.
The damaged track was repaired in time and the Dublin public would witness one of the world’s best-ever cyclists in action.
Coppi’s palmarès were incredible as he had won the Tour de France twice, the Giro d'Italia five times, the Giro di Lombardia five times, Milan-San Remo three times, in addition to the World Championships, Paris–Roubaix and Flèche Wallonne.
What’s remarkable is that he missed out on a number of his best years due to the outbreak of World War II. By the time he competed in Dublin however, his career was nearly over.
On his trip to Ireland, Elliott would take the Italian and the others to visit his family in Kilmacanogue in Co Wicklow.
The riders competed in a series of events including sprint, pursuit and devil-take-the-hindmost races; the last of which was won by Coppi.
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However, despite massive crowds having flocked to Santry, Morton vowed never to organise another cycling event.
Apart from the bombing, he also apparently was criticised by some cycling fans for not having recruited the best track cyclists in the world and he also had to put up with Coppi’s demands.
Morton had booked a room for Coppi in Groome’s Hotel on Parnell Street, but when Coppi realised his room was on the first floor a message was relayed to Morton that ‘Fausto does not walk up stairs.’
Morton’s was enraged, saying: “Well fuck that pigeon-chested Italian.”
However, he feared that Il Campionissimo was liable to renege on his contract, and he gave in to his demands.
Unfortunately, tragedy would strike just a few months later, after Coppi contracted malaria on a racing trip to Africa.
Upon his return to Italy, he developed a fever and died within days. It would be decades before the Irish public would have another opportunity to see the World’s best competing in the country.
Coppi: One of the very best on the bike, he was also one of the slickest riders every to grace the professional peloton.
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