The following article, first published in 'Exhaust Notes' the magazine of The Irish Veteran and Vintage Motor Cycle Club, will be of interest to the many bikers of the entry, and was sent in by Adrian Gates.
The Ireland End- to- End Trial
Harry Havelin
The End-to-End Trial was one of the truly epic events in the history of Irish motorcycling, though it is now largely forgotten in the mists of time. Just fourteen "End-to-Ends" were held between its inauguration in 1909 and its final running in 1930.
As a test of endurance for men and machines it had no equal. Promoted
by the Ulster Centre of the Motor Cycle Union of Ireland, the event started
from Rock Island Coastguard Station at Mizen Head, Co. Cork, and finished
at Fair Head, Co. Antrim - a distance of 395 miles.The five events held
from 1909 to 1913 were one-day marathon runs; however, from 1914 it took
place over two days with an overnight stop.
Even today, with our smooth tarmac roads, dual carriageways and motorways,
a motorcycle trip from one end of Ireland to the other is no minor undertaking.
But, just imagine what it must have been like one hundred years ago on
rough, pot-holed, rock strewn, rutted tracks, being traversed by early,
rigid suspension, motorcycles running on primitive puncture-prone tyres!
The 1909 event took place on Tuesday, July 13.
Of the original 26 entries, only 16 were despatched at 1 a.m. that morning
from the Coastguard Station at Mizen Head by Chief Officer Hennessy. The
route taken was through Skibbereeen, Cork, Fermoy, Cahir, Cashel, Durrow,
Abbeyleix, Maryborough (Portlaoise), Naas, Dublin, Drogheda, Dundalk,
Belfast (Balmoral), Antrim, Ballymena, Armoy, Ballycastle, Ballyvoy, Fair
Head.
The 395-mile journey was divided into seven sections. For each of these
a minimum time was set, and any excess of the fixed time resulted in a
penalty. The checking stations were at Cork, Cashel, Dublin, Drogheda,
Dundalk, and Belfast and at the finish. The weather at the start was bad,
competitors having to ride through fog and rain, but by the time they
reached Skibbereen there was a welcome improvement.
Of the 16 starters, 11 reached Dublin, where there was a one-hour stop
for lunch before they set out for Fair Head.
Nine riders reached the finish together in a time of 20 hours 45 mins.
When the route cards were inspected it was found that six riders had completed
the 395 miles without losing a mark. The six were all mounted on Triumph
machines - R. M. Talbot, Charles E. Murphy, J. Lavery, T. A. Govan, Charles
B. Franklin and J. E. Coulter.
To decide the overall winner, the rules allowed, in the event of a tie,
that a hill-climb be held to settle the matter.
So, on the following day (Wednesday, July 14) the six finishers went head-to-head
in a hill-climb on Quay Hill at Ballycastle.
Winner was Charles E. Murphy, with a total of 51.06 points. Murphy, a
solicitor from Cootehill, Co. Cavan, won the Palmer Tyre Company Trophy
for his overall victory plus a gold medal for best performance by a private
owner.
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