Matthew Walls is among an exciting group of, mostly very young, Irish riders who have marked themselves out as ones to watch this week at Rás Tailteann (Photo: Toby Watson)
Rás Tailteann, Ireland's premier stage race for men, gets under today, for five days of action, with the opening day taking the riders 161km from Portlaoise, Co Laois to Kilmallock, Co Limerick. It will be the furthest, and the fastest, most of the Irish riders in this field will have raced so far this season, with the fatigue levels building daily.
There's a really diverse group of Irish riders in the race this year, from those who have won it before - Daire Feeley - to Paul Kennedy, who aged 45 has been one of the men of the domestic season to date. And then we have riders as young as 18 who look like future pros, some with contracts already.
In this piece we've selected 11 Irish riders to watch. This is not our ranking of the best Irish riders in the race, though some of them will probably prove to be among the very best in the five days ahead.
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Instead, this is a group of young riders who we believe can perform this week, have bags of potential and - most importantly - are trying to their mark in cycling; some on the domestic scene and others with ambitions to be top professionals.
Matthew Walls (18) APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery
This is one of the most interesting riders in the field; a man who goes about his business quietly and clinically. We think he's one of the most likely Irish riders on the scene at present to make it as a pro and to make his mark when he gets there.
He's got exams this year - the dreaded Leaving Cert - so he may not be at his very best this week. But he has already taken a couple of wins this season, his first as an U23. And he won a stage and the overall of the Junior Tour of Ireland last year. This is a man who knows how to win, and how to do it when it counts.
Conor Murphy (19) Team Ireland
Murphy has probably achieved the most of any young Irish rider in the field this week. He won silver in the junior TT at the Europeans last year, when he also won the TT stage at Course de la Paix Juniors (2.Ncup).
The previous year, his first as a junior, he won Eroica Juniores-Coppa Andrea Meneghelli (1.1), the junior Strade Bianche, and was 10th in the junior TT at the 2025 Worlds.
He hasn't raced at home this year as he is now riding for Decathlon CMA CGM Development. And with only a very limited amount of racing done abroad, it is hard to know where he is at present. But he should have an impact this week.
Niall McLoughlin (21) Connacht Cycling
A 2nd place finisher on the opening stage last year, the Mayo-based rider will look to get amongst it in the sprints for a stage win this year. He is definitely more than capable of getting to that top step on the podium.
He won big senior races even as a junior and, of late, has been riding on the track in Europe. That means his speed should be where it needs to be to contend for a stage victory, which would be huge for his Connacht Cycling team. Photo by Caroline Kerley.
Willem O'Connor (20) O'Leary Stone Kanturk
O'Connor really stepped up, riding for Velo Performance, last year, especially at Dornan Rás Mumhan where he was a factor in all of the stages towards 3rd overall. He has since switched teams and is now riding for Team Bricquebec Cotentin in France.
Since the start of the season he has had a busy time of it on the French elite scene, riding races with the intensity and distance that should really set him up for a good tilt at the Rás. This is his second appearance in the race in his second year as an U23 and last year’s lessons should really stand to him.
He rode the four-stage Boucles de la Charente-Maritime (NAT) in France the week before last and has been aggressive in the races for his new team, suggesting he can go into this Rás with confidence.
Toby Sweetman (18) Cycling Leinster
The teenager, and first-year U23 rider, made the Irish junior national team on the Junior Tour of Ireland 2025. He took a fantastic stage win on the fourth day of racing into Kilfenora towards a final general classification placing of 6th.
Sweetman very unexpectedly lost his father, Craig, shortly after that stage victory on 'The JT' last year. It is no exaggeration to say Sweetman Snr was a hugely popular and respected figure on the domestic scene for decades.
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His son would be a very, very popular winner of a stage this week if he could pull it off. But, of course, there is no pressure, genuinely.
He is a first-year U23, riding his first Rás. But he has shown he can be the man for the big day and he'd dearly love to get up again and do something big.
Fionn Killeen (17) & Hugh Óg Mulhearne (17) Team Ireland
12 July 2025; Hugh Óg Mulhearne of Cycling Ireland leads during Stage 5 of 2025 Junior Tour of Ireland from Ennis to Killaloe. Photo by Stephen McMahon/Sportsfile
We've lumped these two together for two reasons. Firstly, they are the youngest riders in the race - two juniors selected onto the Irish team under a special new dispensation put in place by Cycling Ireland. Secondly, being junior riders, there is no pressure on them, they are in this race to learn.
However, both have proven very strong racing at home and abroad this season. Mulhearne has been among the top ranked juniors racing in France in 2026. Killeen was 3rd overall at Rás Mumhan and made his debut for Ireland the weekend before last at the Nations Cup stage race in the Czech Republic, taking 6th and 13th on stages.
The fact Killeen and Mulhearne are in the race is a really interesting storyline and will be fascinating to watch. They could both really perform, but there is no pressure on them to do so. Photo of Mulhearne by Stephen McMahon-Sportsfile.
Rory Condon (18) O'Leary Stone Kanturk
Condon was 2nd, to Conor Murphy, in the junior road race at the National Road Championships in Meath last year. He has since moved into the U23 peloton, with Zappi Racing, and rides this Rás with his original club team.
He has raced abroad a lot in the past two seasons, at times with Cycling Munster and also with an Italian team late last summer. It means, though he goes into this race as a first-year U23, he has been exposed to this type of racing before.
Like many of the others on this list, he is primarily in this race to learn. But he is a strong young rider who won't be slow to take his chance if one should come his way. Photo by Caroline Kerley.
Odhran Doogan (22) Cycling Ulster
Last year's yellow jersey wearer, he relinquished the race lead on the second last day but still finished 3rd overall. He is also a very fast finisher and has been 3rd on stages three times.
He has had a quieter start to the season than he would have liked. But he is a man who generally rises to the challenge of Rás Tailteann and he is a rider who is very much overdue a win on this race. Photo by Lorraine O'Sullivan.
Jack Conroy (21) Team Ireland
Like some of the others on his Velo Performance team, he has taken a big step up in performance since joining the team, from Bray Wheelers, during the off season.
He was recently 3rd in the Des Hanlon Memorial, 2nd in the Shay Elliott Memorial and won the Bobby Power Memorial and the Alan Towell Memorial this year.
He also has racing stints in Greece - where he competed strongly - at the start of the year and in Denmark, earlier this month, under his belt. His season to date has the characteristics that point towards success on the Rás. Photo by Sean Rowe.
Tadhg Killeen (20) Cycling Leinster
Killeen has been a really strong rider on the road, and in cyclocross, in recent years and is due a breakthrough result on a major road race.
He was one of the men of the day at last Sunday's National Criterium Championships in Dublin, attacking in the front group and eventually finishing 3rd, one of the best results of his career.
The Rás will be a very different race compared to Sunday's contest, which was just over an hour. But Killeen took a step forward last weekend and, if he could maintain that momentum, anything could happen over the next five days. Photo by Toby Watson.
