President of South West Road Races Athea resigns after 'huge amount of disgusting comments' after eleventh hour cancellation of Irish road race

Mike Dalton issued a statement on social media, confirming he had stepped down from the role.

The event – last held 15 years ago – was due to take place from September 12-13.

However, the race was called off after a failed a track inspection, with insufficient time remaining to address the issues raised.

The organisers announced the decision “with absolutely broken hearts” and said “everything was ready to go”.

A statement on Thursday said: “Everything was ready to go, but unfortunately our track inspection did not go to plan. While the general areas and corners were completed, issues remain on the back road and there is simply not enough time to carry out the necessary repairs.

“We cannot put into words the turmoil and devastation within our club right now. We have invested an enormous amount of time, work and money into making this event happen, and unfortunately this situation was completely out of our hands.”

On Friday, club president Dalton announced his resignation after claiming to have received messages of “poison and hatred” following a second, more detailed statement, which was released on Thursday evening.

“Following a huge amount of disgusting comments aimed personally at me following the release of the open and honest statement by our club yesterday evening, I have made the decision to resign as President of South West Road Races Athea, with immediate effect,” Dalton said.

“After everything that has come to light over the last few months, and especially what has been said publicly on social media over the last few days, I have had enough.

“I know there are people who did not like me or agree with how I chose to run things. That is fine. There is no obligation on anyone to like me or agree with the decisions I made but no person should be subjected to the poison and hatred that I have had to experience in the past 12 hours.”

He added: “It is despicable how anyone could think that it is acceptable to treat another person with this level of hatred over a motorcycle race.

“To the people making these comments, and, to those who like or laugh at them. You are nothing more than cowards hiding behind false profiles and names.”

Thursday’s follow-up statement addressed the issues relating to the late completion of the track inspection.

The statement said: “There may be a number of shortfallings identified either now or in the future for which the club accepts full responsibility.

“If any of these shortfallings served to contribute to the current situation then the club will attend to these in order that there is no repetition in the future.”

The statement said the track inspection process “lies with the Road Race committee of the Governing Body MCI” and added, “in short, the process can become very chaotic and confusing as everything is based on multiple opinions without any standardising mechanisms being in existence”.

It was claimed in the statement that a request for a preliminary inspection “in or around November 2025” was not actioned, “for reasons unknown”. The statement also claimed that a further call was made for an inspection “in or around March 2026”, which “didn’t happen”.

The officially appointed track inspection team inspected the course on Sunday, August 30.

Several competitors also gave differing opinions on the improvements required, the club said.

The statement continued: “The club do not apportion any blame to the MCI, the Road Race Committee or its members, Limerick City Council or any individual.

“The club believes that, while it may not have been deemed necessary in the past, that the blame lies firmly with the system and, in particular, the non-existence of Rules and Regulations in place to govern the area of track inspection”.

Road racing in the Republic of Ireland returned this year for the first time since 2022, including events at Kells, Skerries and Walderstown.