Fan’s final salute to the superstar of a sport largely ignored by the media

THE word ‘tragedy’ is used too often and too lightly in a sporting context — an unfortunate own-goal perhaps, or a fleeting honour missed for another year.

However, the death of Ireland’s supreme motorcycling star Martin Finnegan is such an event.

It is unquestionably so for his grieving family — but they also shared him with an extended clan of admirers. We thank them for that and share their loss in our own way. Motorcycle road-racing is a sport difficult to understand or perhaps justify in a logical or dispassionate analysis. Its demands are extreme, the toll it exacts too great. But who is to deny it to those for whom it is the only challenge that tests their skill and bravery.