When Carrick-on-Suir's Hamper Race and Sean Kelly delivered a cycling feast

Sean Kelly cycling through the streets of his native Carrick-on-Suir at Christmas 1997. In 1994, a host of stars joined him in the route. Picture: Kieran Clancy

It was the race to officially mark the end of Sean Kelly's glittering career, but not even one of the most decorated riders of all time could have envisaged how his swansong would play out.

The Carrick Wheels Road Club, as they were known since their foundation in the late 1960s, held an annual Hamper Race on the Sunday before Christmas and it was decided the 1994 edition would be a perfect send-off for the town’s most famous son.