Priests race nuns on tandem bicycles from Mullingar to Ballyfermot for the opening of Our Lady of Victories youth centre.
A great turnout for the opening of Our Lady of Victories youth centre at Sarsfield Road in Ballyfermot. The £35,000 centre is the first part of a two phase programme for the 11,000 young people in the area.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin James O'Keeffe performs the opening ceremony. The Saint Louis Girls' Pipe Band is a huge draw, but they cannot compete with the major attraction of the day,
A 50-mile tandem race, priests versus nuns.
Taking part in the race from Mullingar in County Westmeath to Ballyfermot are two local priests, Father John Wall and Father Douglas Malone, and two nuns from Seven Oaks Convent, Sister Catherine Cahill and Sister Marie Flynn.
The priests won narrowly but only because they demanded a 7-mile start on the nuns who they said were far more used to cycling.
The tandem race is part of a fundraising effort to raise £1,200, the remaining debt on the youth centre.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 15 July 1974. The reporter is Seán Duignan.
