|
|
106 motorbike cops on tour
28.05.10
by Linda McGrory
DRIVERS on the west coast beware because 106
motorcycle cops from around the world are travelling
to a motorway near you.
The Blue Knights International Law Enforcement
Motorcycle Club are currently on a week-long tour of
Ireland. They started their trip in Dublin last
Sunday and travelled via Belfast to the North Antrim
coast, taking a spin on the way to Ballymoney, home
of the late great motorcycle racer, Joey Dunlop.
They stayed at the Carlton Redcastle Hotel on
Wednesday night and took in many of Inishowen's
tourism hotspots yesterday.
The international traffic cops also paid their
respects at a roadside memorial for Garda John
Naughton (48) who was killed while off-duty, when
his motorbike was in a collision with a car near
Letterkenny, Co Donegal, in July, 2006.
The Blue Knights is a worldwide motorbike club for
active and retired policemen and women with a
passion for motorbikes. |
 |
It was founded in 1974
in Maine, Massachusetts, and is now the largest
motorcycle club in the world with more than 20,000
members in 29 countries.
Its mission is to "promote and advance the sport of
motorcycling and the safety of motorcycling" and
"develop a fraternal spirit between law enforcement
personnel and the general public".
The Blue Knights Ireland have 40 members who are
also members of the Garda Motorcycle Club.
Blue Knights Ireland president, Garda Brendan Condon
from Limerick, said the 106 riders on the Irish tour
were from all over the world including Britain,
Germany, Norway, Austria, France and the US. The
tour group includes 25 female motorcycle cops from
Germany, Belgium, US and one from Ireland, Garda
Rose O’Connor of the Clare Traffic Corps.
"This is the Blue Knights' second Irish tour. We had
one in 2007 covering the south of the country, and
it rained the whole week. This time, at least, we've
had some great, sunny weather," said Garda Condon
before leaving Redcastle.
The club members will today travel via Sligo,
Ballina, Lough Conn, Westport, Kylemore and Clifden,
finishing up with their presentation night in Galway
city on Saturday.
And is it hard for 106 traffic cops to turn a blind
eye when they see bad driver behaviour on the
highways and byways of Ireland?
"We see some people acting the clown all right but
we have to resist the temptation to go after them.
We're supposed to be on holiday," joked Blue Knight
Brendan. Easy riders maybe...but don't say you
weren't warned! |
|
