Mayor to use crowdfund bicycle for perspective of city cycling

Dublin Cycling Campaign members today handed over a new mayoral bicycle to Dublin City’s lord mayor, Cllr Nial Ring.

The bicycle funded with crowdfunding of €575 and by the Dutch Bicycle Shop offering the bicycle at cost price. A pannier bag was added to the bicycle after the mayor said he needed to carry his mayoral chain and documents.

At the handover, Cllr Ring told RTE Radio One’s Drive Time, “Well, I’ve very aware of the joys and sorrows of cycling”, referring to sporting cycling which he does mostly in more rural areas.

He added: “But this will give me more perspective of inner city cycling… leading by example I should be able to come back to the city council and make suggestion and look for more funding for cycling.”

Kieran Ryan of the Dublin Cycling Campaign said: “We’re glad the Lord Mayor has accepted the bicycle and we hope he will use his position to show how cycling can be incorporated into everyday life in Dublin, whether you’re the Lord Mayor or someone who lives, works or shops in the city.”

Astrid Fitzpatrick, who runs the Dutch Bike Shop said: “We’re delighted to support this initiative and we really hope the Lord Mayor enjoys his new bike. We’ve provided a really superb Dutch bike for him, ideal for getting around Dublin’s streets as comfortably as possible.”

The idea of the mayoral bicycle started after the mayor tweet images of the mayoral car parked in a cycle lane on Dublin’s O’Connell Street, which he apologised for. He was on the street to launch a tour bus and later in an radio interview he said that: “I’d 100% justify the use of the Lord Mayor’s car at all times because you genuinely can get a lot done.”

Although today he showed a change of mind, directly after the parking incident, when asked by Newstalk presenter Ciaran Kelly if a mayor’s bicycle would be a good idea, Cllr Ring said: “When I’m going to a function, one, you like to drive there fresh, you have to have the chain on and when you’re in the car you can get some work done, you can prepare your speech etc.” He also said: “I can’t be cycling around with the [mayor’s] chain.”

As we reported previously, Cllr Ring also said that cars are needed in Dublin City centre so that shoppers can carry “26 inch plasma TVs” home with them.


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