The Galway cycling community is mourning the loss of one of the west’s most well known enthusiasts and charity fundraisers.
Mick Kelly of Furbo died last week after suffering a severe stroke while out cycling on Tuesday. Just two days before he had taken part in the annual Chernobyl Aid Ireland return cycle from Oughterard to Croagh Patrick.
Mick Kelly, a Moycullen native living in Furbo, was one of Galway’s foremost cyclists. A racing cyclist in his youth and a member of the Galway Bay Cycling Club, he won gold and bronze medals at the National Cycling Championships. A self employed fitter, he was forced to give up his work when he developed sight problems in 1990 and retrained as a telephonist. Since then Mick Kelly has become a personality on the road, cycling in hundreds of charity events, raising funds, in particular for the blind.
Last year he was the sole Galway person who took part in the HSE Mizen 2 Malin Cycle, covering some 700 kilometres, and as a regular with the Blazing Saddles, he completed some of the most gruelling legs of the Tour de France over the Alps, covering 170 kilometres in a day.
During the summer Mick Kelly, who recently turned 60, joined with Mike Lydon of Moycullen to cycle 1,000km on a tandem from Spain to the Spanish Arch in aid of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland and the Irish Kidney Association.
The two men raised €50,000 in their quest to highlight the quality of life people can enjoy despite having a transplant or being visually impaired.
Eamon Duffy, a former director of NCBI Blazing Saddles, says Mick was a “ leader of men and an inspiration to all despite recent sight loss”.
“Mick lived for his family, friends, and cycling. His contribution on and off the bike was simply immense, his knowledge of cycling and bikes second to none. His sad and most untimely passing has left a void that will not be filled in my opinion in cycling in Galway and in Blazing Saddles.” Mick Kelly is survived by his wife Patricia, daughters Deirdre and Theresa, and son Joe.
