The Skerries 100, the Republic of Ireland’s equivalent of the North West 200, was celebrating its 70th anniversary last weekend. Now run on a tight 2.9-mile circuit just outside the seaside village of the same name and a dozen miles from Dublin city centre, the event has always attracted the biggest crowds of any of the road races in the southern part of Ireland.
Unique in having run continuously throughout its seven decades, the event has attracted all of the greats of Irish racing including Joey and Robert Dunlop, Phillip McCallen, Ray McCullough, Sam McClements, Eddie Laycock, Martin Finnegan, Brian Reid, Ralph Bryans, Tommy Robb and Tom Herron. Geoff Duke made his debut at Skerries in 1949 and the six-time world champion has had a corner named after him ever…