William Joseph Dunlop OBE (25 February 1952 - 2 July 2000) was a Northern Irish motorcyclist from Ballymoney, County Antrim, who was noted for his performances at the Isle of Man TT. In 2015, he was voted Northern Ireland's greatest-ever sports star.
Dunlop secured a record 26 victories at the Isle of Man TT, including three hat-tricks, and 24 wins at the Ulster Grand Prix. He was awarded the MBE in 1986 for his contributions to the sport and the OBE in 1996 for his humanitarian work in Romanian orphanages.
Dunlop died on 2 July 2000 in Tallinn, Estonia, while leading a 125cc race (he had already won the 750cc and 600cc events) on Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa Circuit. He appeared to lose control of his bike in the wet conditions and died instantly on impact with trees. As a mark of respect, the Estonian government's official website was replaced with a tribute to Dunlop within hours of his death. Fifty thousand mourners, including bikers from all parts of Britain and Ireland and people from all backgrounds in Northern Ireland, attended the funeral procession to Garryduff Presbyterian church and his burial in the adjoining graveyard.
Stephen Robert Dunlop (25 November 1960 - 15 May 2008) was a Northern Irish motorcycle racer, the younger brother of fellow road racer, the late Joey Dunlop, and the father of William Dunlop and Michael Dunlop. Like Joey, Robert died after a crash. His son William died in a crash during practice at the Skerries 100 in Dublin on 7 July 2018.
After an apprenticeship on short circuits, the teenage Dunlop made his road race debut at the 1979 Temple 100. His first appearance at the Cookstown 100 came in 1980, riding a 347 cm3 Yamaha. His first professional race, where he was fully sponsored was at Aghadowey in 1981.
On 15 May 2008 Dunlop died after suffering severe chest injuries in a crash during a practice session at the North West 200. The fatal accident happened in the 250 cc qualifying as the riders approached the Mather's Cross section of the course. When the engine on his motorcycle seized he mistakenly hit the motorcycle's front brake, which was situated beside the clutch on his specially modified bike, and he was thrown over the handlebars at approximately 155 mph (250 km/h). As he crashed, a following rider, Darren Burns, collided with him and suffered a broken leg and concussion in the accident. Dunlop was taken to Causeway Hospital in Coleraine before succumbing to his injuries shortly after 22:00 local time. Dunlop had been racing in the 250 cc class that year for the first time since the 1994 Isle of Man TT. His son Michael went on to win the race and dedicated the victory to his father.
His funeral took place on 18 May 2008 at Garryduff Presbyterian Church in his home town of Ballymoney. Dunlop was laid to rest beside his brother, Joey.
William Dunlop (23 July 1985 - 7 July 2018) was a professional motorcycle racer from Northern Ireland who died as a result of a racing incident. Part of a motorcycle racing dynasty, William was the elder brother of Michael; both were sons of the late Robert Dunlop, and nephews of the late Joey Dunlop. He died as a result of a crash at a racing event in the Republic of Ireland.
William started racing 125 cc bikes in 2000, when he was 15. During his racing career, he accumulated 108 Irish National Road Race wins.
In addition, he also achieved numerous victories at two of Ireland's prestigious road racing events, the North West 200 and the Ulster Grand Prix. His best results at the Isle of Man TT saw him securing the third tier on the podium on four occasions with his best result being the runner up position in the 2016 TT Zero. Dunlop also competed in eleven TT race seasons between 2006 and 2017, with a second place and four third places being his best results, in the 125 cc, SuperSport and Classic races.
Dunlop sustained fatal head injuries as a result of a crash during practice for the 2018 Skerries 100 Road Races in County Dublin. His Yamaha YZF-R1 bike spilled oil from the engine sump onto the back wheel, and as a result Dunlop lost control and crashed into a ditch and trees at the Sam's Tunnel part of the circuit.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Peter McCabe is a Belfast-based tour guide, with an Open College Network Level 2 Tour Guiding qualification, and is an associate member of History Hub Ulster. Peter possesses experience of leading a variety of walking tours, especially around East Belfast and a in range of local cemeteries, as well as on the city sightseeing tourist buses. To date, Peter has also written four books, detailing people buried in a myriad of cemeteries in Belfast and beyond. Peter also looks after the childhood home of George Best - which is available as a short-term holiday let, and for house tours - and is also a guide at Belfast Harbour Office, his favourite municipal building in Belfast.
5 сен 2024
