Irish Corner 10 on Alpe d'Huez at last year's Tour de France; the men behind it and are planning a similar gathering at the Giro in Dublin for the finish of the stage into the capital on Sunday week. Will you be there? (Photo by Chris McCann)
By Brian Canty
The men behind the ‘Irish Corner 10’ idea that attracted hundreds of fans on Alpe d’Huez during the Tour de France last year are bracing themselves for another bumper turnout next Sunday in Dublin.
Stephen O’Shea and Ronan Fox, two lifelong Irish cycling fans, have been all over Europe supporting our professional cyclists for two decades.
But this year they’ll only need to travel as far as Lower Merrion Street for the third edition of Irish Corner – and they’re hoping many more will join them.
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“We’ve got a corner picked out 3-400 metres from the finish line on Sunday,” said O’Shea.
“The plan is to arrive a couple of hours before the riders are due in to build a bit of an atmosphere.
“It’s on the corner of Clare Street and Merrion Street just outside the Davenport Hotel, we’re unsure how many will turn up but if the last two are anything to go by we’ll have a record attendance.
“These things expand so I want to prepare for that and have facilities if there’s a big crowd which I’m sure there will be, so it’s outside the Davenport Hotel we’ll be congregating.
“There will be food and drink there for people to purchase, we’ll be on both sides of the road and we’ll be looking good for the cameras and that’s the intention.
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“Last year at the Tour went so well, maybe Florence at World Championships we didn’t do so much but that was such a horrible day.
“But the Tour was great, it was like a field of dreams. We built it and people turned up. But as I’ve always said, an Irish corner is a flag, a corner and Irish fans.
“It’s not a franchise, anyone can do it at any event, Olympics, World Championships; all events, Track, Paralympic, Cyclocross.
“Anyone can turn up and make an Irish corner and if Sunday week goes well hopefully many more will get on board.”
Some people really pushed the boat out last year in France, helping to create what will hopefully be a lasting legacy.
There was no doubting what part of the Alpe the Paddies had taken up residence on!
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