Draft:Phil O'Brien (cyclist)

Philip O'Brien

Personal information
Born	c. 1941 Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland
Team information
Discipline	Road racing
Role	Rider, Commissaire, Manager
Amateur team
1964 to 1976	Bray Wheelers
Major wins
Irish National Road Race Champion (1969) Irish National Time Trial Champion (1973)

Phil O'Brien from Bray, County Wicklow Ireland, is an Irish road racing cyclist, and later cycle sport administrator and race commissaire and member of the Cycling Irelands Hall of Fame.

Early Days

Born in Bray in 1942, Phil joined Bray Wheelers in May 1957 in his early teens, rolled up his trousers and rode his first time trial on a shiny red bike purchased from Murdochs in Bray and was hooked from that point onwards enjoying a distinguished competitive racing career having raced with Bray Wheelers across a 17 year career.

Racing Career

His first major win was Leixlip Grand Prix in July of 1964 and he enjoyed continued success as a competitive rider both as an individual and a member of the Bray Wheelers team who won the national team prize seven times in-a-row from 1965 to 1972. Phil became the National Road Race Champion in July of 1969 in Kildare and the National 50 mile Time-Trial Champion in Belfast in October 1972. He rode 10 Tours of Ireland which was the major national event through to the mid 1970’s in which his Bray Wheelers team enjoyed huge success.

Phil with the Bray Wheelers Team Winners of the team prize he in Tour of Ireland in 1970 managed by Peter Crinnion.

Post Racing

After he stopped racing he became a team manager with Bray Wheelers for 8 years – even getting a chance to manage both Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche in a race in Germany in 1978. Sean Kelly had just turned professional and Stephen Roche would go on to win the Ras Tailteann the following year.

After his racing and management career Phil had a distinguished 31-year career as a commissaire, primarily leading the Rás Tailteann as a moto commissaire. Beginning in 1984, he officiated countless races, including the National Championships, the Gorey Three-Day (23 consecutive years), and major international events like the Nissan Classic. His responsibilities included ensuring race safety, managing gaps between groups, coordinating team and neutral service cars, and providing race updates to Radio Tour. Known for his precision and dedication and of course his green Kawasaki motor bike, Phil prioritised safety while managing the fluid and high-pressure dynamics of road racing.

Phil officiating at the An Post Ras Tailteann.

Phil was also a member of the tripartite executive responsible for uniting Irish Cycling and Vice president of the Irish Cycling Federation and is now a Life President of Bray Wheelers.

His retirement from officiating in 2015 marked the end of a remarkable chapter in Irish Road Racing, Phil had been a consistent figure in the road racing scene for almost 60 years in Ireland as both competitor, manager, administrator and commissaire.

Hall of Fame

On November 28th 2024 Phil was inducted into the Cycling Ireland Hall of fame at a ceremony in the Bray Wheelers clubhouse with a presentation from the President of Cycling Ireland Dr. Tom Daly becoming the third member of the Bray Wheelers Club in the Hall of Fame after Peter Crinnion and Peter Doyle

Dr. Tom Daly, President of Cycling Ireland inaugurating Phil into the Hall of Fame in November 2024.

Podcast

Bray Wheelers produced a Podcast series in 2024 featuring some of their legendary riders and Phil O'Brien features in Episode 1. The Podcasts are available on the Bray Wheelers website or from Spotify or Apple Podcasts.