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Kerry County Librarian Tommy O’Connor receives albums relating to the career of legendary Kerry cyclist Gene Mangan at Killorglin Library this week. Also present to mark the occasion were, Tom Daly, Vice President Cycling Ireland, Éibhlín Hayes, Killorglin Library, Mary Concannon, Killorglin Cycling Club. Photo: Valerie O’Sullivan
A FASCINATING part of Kerry’s sporting history in the form of two albums of newspaper cuttings put together in the 1950s by Gillian Mangan, younger sister of the legendary Kerry cyclist Gene Mangan, has been donated to Kerry Library.
At an event at Killorglin Library on Tuesday, Gillian donated the albums to Kerry Library who will hold them for public access in the Kerry Local History & Archives in Tralee.
Gillian’s collections begin in 1954 when Gene was 17 years old and becoming prominent in cycling circles: “I was seven years younger than Gene and he was a hero in my eyes,” said Gillian.
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“I got all the papers and cut out anything to do with Gene and stuck them into old account books. I’m delighted that they will now be preserved of use for future generations and I’d like to thank the library for hosting them,” she added.
Gene became a national sporting sensation in 1955 by winning the Rás Tailteann at the age of 18. Apart from documenting Gene’s early career, the albums also record the glory-days of Kerry cycling in the 1950s and 60s that also include Paudie Fitzgerald’s Rás win in 1956 and Mick Murphy’s in 1958, as well as the all-important Kerry team wins.
A large collection of newspaper cuttings relating to Kerry cycling kept by the Mangan family has also been donated.
In addition, they also include cuttings and pictures of ordinary club races and riders and they are highly evocative in giving a wonderful sense of the cycling scene and the people involved in Kerry at the time.
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Speaking on behalf of the library, Kerry County Librarian, Tommy O’Connor, thanked Gillian for her donation which will be preserved in a public archive for the use of future generations and he noted that it will supplement the very scarce copy of Gene’s biography that Kerry Library holds – ‘The Gene Mangan Story’ which was written by Seán O’Neill and was published in 1959.
The event was also attended by Mary Concannon, a representative of Killorglin Cycling Club and she also paid tribute to Gene.
“Gene left Kerry in the 1950s for work and eventually settled in Dublin but he has had a life-long loyalty to Kerry cycling and in particular to his original club in Killorglin. He has always been a wonderful supporter and has contributed to Killorglin and Kerry cycling in numerous ways down through the years. We would like to thank Gillian for this donation – it will be highly interesting for everyone with an interest in our sporting heritage and an important part of the town’s history.”
Also in attendance was Tom Daly from Killarney who is Vice-President of Cycling Ireland. Tom said that Gene was a significant figure in the history of Irish cycling from both a racing and administration point of view – he was also President of the National Cycling Association for a period and also noted that ‘Gene has previously donated important material related to the history of Irish Cycling to the Irish Cycling Archive at the UCD Archives but it is entirely appropriate that this material, related to his Kerry roots, should stay in Kerry’.
The albums and related collection of newspaper cuttings can be viewed at Killorglin library during September and thereafter in the Kerry Local History & Archives at Library Headquarters in Tralee.
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