By Pat McQuaid
On Saturday
morning last I sent the first of my daily WhatsApp messages to Paddy Doran. A
while later I got this message back: “Pat, Anne here Paddy passed away this morning”.
Anne went on to briefly explain the circumstances.
To say I was
shocked would be an understatement. I was devastated that my best friend was
taken away so suddenly, and indeed in this modern world, so early.
Paddy and I
started cycling around the same time and competed together throughout the
junior ranks. We rode Paddy Sullivan’s Friday night league and the
International Youth Week when we had high level German teams competing against
us.
They were great
times and we had ‘the craic’. Paddy was very fond of that. His philosophy was
that if you didn’t enjoy what you were doing you shouldn’t be doing it.
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When the race was over that was history; look forward to the next race. We both turned senior together at the end of the 60s. I was in our family club The Emerald and Paddy joined the Tailteann.
He was surrounded by a ruthless bunch of talented cyclists; John McCarthy, Terry Colbert, Dennis Brennan, Peter Schweppes, Terry Ferris to name but a few. And they were managed by one of the greatest characters ever to grace the Irish cycling scene, John Lackey.
John would
drive them week in week out the length and breadth of the country to races. He
paid for everything and only demanded one thing in return - that they win! And
win they did. Paddy learned his craft in that set-up.
I remember a
stage finish of the Tour of Ireland one year into Salthill. As the screaming
bunch came into Galway and started the twists and turns to get to Salthill
Promenade Paddy took off on a flyer. For 2kms he held the bunch at bay and
indeed as the bunch was entering the promenade there was a massive crash at the
front, bringing down the first two lines of the peloton right across the road. This
gave Paddy just the space he needed to stay clear and win the stage.
Then there was his win into Arklow in the 1973 Tour of Ireland – a victory that is now the stuff legend. Halfway through the stage Paddy got into a break with Bray Wheeler Harry Dawson and American Bill Humphreys.
Bill didn’t
know it, but he was with two of the wiliest cyclists in Ireland at that time.
Bill was in Ireland as a result of an invitation from Raleigh Ireland; the
first US international team to take part in international cycling in Europe. He
was out to impress and justify their invitation.
So the two
Irish lads let him and encouraged him from behind telling him he was flying, that
they had glass cranks and couldn’t push them too hard - anything to keep the
somewhat naive American driving forward.
And of course
once they smelt the whitewash Paddy and Harry were gone; Paddy easily out-sprinting
the steady Harry. We both finished our careers around the same time and I went
into the Irish Cycling Federation in a coaching capacity as I had qualified as
physical education teacher.
Paddy was also interested in coaching and began a period of self education, which continued through his lifetime. He was brought up in inner city Dublin of working class parents and didn’t get the same educational opportunities as many children from other parts of the city.
In later years
Paddy was one of the best educated coaches within these islands and as a result
worked with many different sportspersons from different disciplines. Every one
of them will sing his praises.
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Paddy and I
used to travel the country during winter weekends giving courses to clubs all
over the country. And we had the craic. I bring that subject up again because Paddy
stood by it and it was a part of him.
When I was
appointed manager of the Irish Olympic squad for the Los Angeles Olympic Games
in 1984 I set about trying to create a professional outfit with good support,
good material and a good racing programme. I wanted Paddy as masseur for the
lads whenever possible.
I remember going to the France Belge race in Belgium with a group of young riders who were not long out of junior ranks; Paul Kimmage, Gary Thomson, Martin Early amongst them. We were staying in a school, sleeping in dormitories and eating in the school kitchen. The racing was epic.
I remember
Paddy saying to me as we watched several echelons heading up the road: “This is
what real cycling is about. Our lads will learn more here this weekend than a
year in Ireland.”
The race was
won by a rider called Johan Capiot and many years later Paddy had the
opportunity of meeting him in Limerick when he rode the Nissan Classic. Paddy
told me they discussed the France Belge and to this day it was the best race he
ever witnessed.
When I moved to Switzerland and became president of UCI I still kept up regular contact with Paddy. He would keep me informed as to what was happening in the Irish scene, what riders were coming through and of course what was happening in the cycling politics. He had a huge interest in what I was doing and the various battles I was involved in.
We would meet
up when I might be back in Dublin to visit family and discuss the situation of
world cycling. He was a big supporter of mine and understood what I was trying
to achieve, and the changes I was trying to bring about in world cycling. He
understood the pressures I was under, he understood the pressures the riders
were under, he understood doping was systemic and always, always, pushed me to
stick with my objectives.
Paddy wasn’t a traveler;
he didn’t like planes and wouldn’t go on them. But when I told him I would like
him to have some tickets for the track events in the Olympic Games he traveled
to London by boat and train.
Paddy and his
daughter had a wonderful night and after the event we met for a drink locally. He
was thrilled to have watched live track cycling at the highest level and this
furthered his ambitions in coaching. For me it was a thrill to see the look in
his face having realised a dream.
Throughout my
campaign for re-election in 2013 when I was having difficulty getting the
necessary support in Ireland he continued to push me to stick to my guns. He’d
tell me most of the major critics didn’t know what they were talking about and
didn’t realise the work I was actually doing for our sport.
Having left UCI
we moved to the south of France to enjoy a quieter life and concentrate on my
health and things I had neglected due to the high powered pressure of the job I
had. Paddy and I would WhatsApp four or five times a day; sometimes jokes,
sometimes passing on stories from the cycling world, or just even analysing
performances of riders in Classics or Grand Tours going on at that time.
When I came
home for a visit we always met for a coffee or two and discussed the cycling
world in all its aspects, good or bad - and we would have the craic. He’d send
me, on a daily basis, four or five articles from the Irish newspaper sites.
They could range from Government politics from Miriam Lord, Sinn Fein shenanigans,
Billy Keane stories from his pub in Listowel.
He had a huge
interest in Irish history and how our State has developed under various Taoisigh
– and, of course, Brexit and its implications. I shall miss him, Irish cycling
shall miss him. He was an unassuming, modest person who gave a great deal to
our sport and asked for nothing in return.
Signing off
from WhatsApp now Paddy
Pat
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