The response that came my way in relation to my latest book " Speedway History Revisited: The Early Years 1896-1928" really surprised me and in light of that I decided to extend my free postage offer indefinately, thank you.
This extended offer also applies to my package deal, whereas if copies of both of my speedway books are ordered as one package then postage will be free.This offer gives European purchasers a saving of €10.50 and the rest of the world a saving of €13.40
Hi there visitors and once again thank you for the patience you afforded me while I was contructing this website. However having said that, it is now more than obvious that for a while I neglected my website duties and failed to update the site from time to time as promised and for this I must apologise and once again I must ask for your patience while I now finish off the job in a proper manner.
I expect this work to take about two weeks to complete and therefore I am setting myself July 17, 2010 as a deadline for its completion. This deadline that I have set myself should easily cater to that dreadful happenings that occurs to writers in general from time to time and here of course I refer to "Writers Block" not withstanding the odd off day.
I have also chosen July 17, 2010 as the official launch date for my new book on speedway "Speedway History Revisited...The Early Years 1896-1928.
JULY 17
Well visitors, the deadline, July 17, I had set myself to complete the necessary refurbishment to my website has finally arrived and my website is now fully updated and for better or worse it is now ready for your perusal.
July 17, is also the day I chose to launch my latest book " Speedway History Revisited...The Early Years 1896-1928" and copies of this are now signed and stacked upon my good wife's dining room table awaiting your orders. She indoors has since issued a statement to the effect that dining out will be the norm at weekends until her beautiful and much cherished dining room table is well clear of "that junk" . So please place your order ASOP.
As the object of this excerise is to promote my two speedway books, I have withdrawn temporarily the details of my two books on old Dublin cinemas, but I will give mention to them again at a later date.
Please now read on, as ever, George
This book covers one of the most controversial subjects ever to continually surface in the history of the sport of motor cycle speedway racing and that subject is, as to whether or not the Australian town of West Maitland in 1923 was the birth place of dirt track motor cycle racing as the sport was generally known in its early years.
While I make no final judgements on the subject in my book, I instead offer many genuine arguments against the possibility of that so well publicised West Maitland claim to fame, with a view to letting my readers form their own opinion as to where and when the first organised motor cycle dirt track race actually did take place.
However while I didn't elaborate on the fact of Ireland's involvement with dirt track racing in my book, I did record the many meetings that did take place at the turn of the 19th century and now that my book is finished and about to be launched on the world market, I may as well now state my belief that Ireland was indeed amongst the first to stage organised motor cycle dirt track races as far back as the year 1900 and just to tease one a little I will give mention to the following;
August 15, 1900, J C. Cooney of Kells County Meath, Ireland, won the first ever organised motor tricycle race in Navan, Co. Meath, this race took place on a gravel track. {I might mention here that some sceptics just might take exception to the fact that this race in Navan only concerned motor tricycles and here I would point to them that the first ever organised motor cycle race in America in 1901 consisted of 3 motor cycles and one motor tricycle, together with the fact that the first motor cycle race on the West Maitland track race in 1923 included a motor bike with a side car and a passenger.
August 20, 1900 a motor cycle race took place in Tramore Co. Waterford and the winner received a prize of £10 while the runner up took the second prize of £5. This event took place on the towns horse racing grass track and thereby pre-dated the West Maitland effort by some 23 years.
August 9, 1902 A motor cycle race took place in Ballymena on the towns local cement track during the Ballymena Bicycle Clubs Annual Sports Day and this race was won by a Tom Mallon on a 2,75 H,P. machine.
October 18, 1902, Bob Stevens won the first ever officially organised motor cycle scratch race on an oval cinder track in Ashtown, Dublin, which oval cinder track must surely have been one of the first such tracks in the world of motor cycle speedway. Bob by 1902 was a well kinown track rider, who not only scored well at the second meeting in Ashtown on November 2, 1902, but he rode his first official race alongside J.C. Cooney in Navan on August 15, 1900.
As a final teaser, I must also tell you that Ireland's "Motor Cycle Union of Ireland" which was inaugurated on March 7, 1902 easily pre-dated all such other like organizations in the world.
Of Course, Ireland also gave the world Fay Taylour the "Queen of Speedway, but then, that's another story.
AS ever, George P. Kearns and again, thank you for your patience.
I can still be reached by email at georgemamie'eircom.net
Details of my previous new book on Dublin Speedway can be found on ‘My Books’ page and information on my other interests are available on the ‘Info Page’.
I am also interested in the happenings of Rathmines in the mid 20th Century as I spent four of my teenage years working there in the Princess Cinemas, which was one of two local cinemas there during the fifties.
I am also interested in the history of Irishtown, Dublin, my place of birth and its neighbouring communities Sandymount and Ringsend.
My other interests lie in my ancestry.
My maternal ancestors, the Bashfords of Ireland were I believe, 16th or 17th century British Planters and I managed to trace my great, great grandfather William and his wife Margaret {Ferguson} Bashford back to their wedding day in the Church of St. Finbarr’s, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, on October 2nd 1798. William was an Attorney with offices in Dublin. They had nine children, five boys and four girls.
I traced my paternal ancestors as far back as 1858 when my great grandfather Patrick Kearns married a Catherine Kiernan in Kells Co Meath on February 9th 1858.
Old Dublin photos and pictures are a passion and one of my hobbies is taking pictures of Dublin.
In all I have written and self published four books, all of which recorded the history of some of Dublin’s social activities in the 20th century and there titles are as follows.
"The Prinner" June 2005 [The Prinner was the nickname used by the patrons of "Princess Cinema" Rathmines, Dublin"}
A to Z of All Old Dublin Cinemas {2007}
"A History of Speedway. The Dublin Experience" April 2009 GEORGE P KEARNS
"Speedway History Revisited...The Early Years 1896-1928 which is due to be launched on July 17, 2010.
