William Joseph "Joey" Dunlop (25 February 1952 – 2 July 2000) was a Northern Irish

motorcyclist Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small- displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in the most populous c ...

from

Ballymoney Ballymoney ( ga, Baile Monaidh , meaning 'townland of the moor') is a small town and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated i ...

Career

He won his third hat trick at the Isle of Man TT in 2000 and set his fastest lap on the course of 123.87 mph in the Senior race, which he finished third. In 2016 he was voted through ''

Motorcycle News ''MCN'' or ''Motor Cycle News'' is a UK weekly motorcycling newspaper published by Bauer Consumer Media, based in Peterborough, United Kingdom. It claims to be "the world’s biggest weekly motorcycle newspaper". The title was founded in lat ...

'' as the fifth greatest motorcycling icon ever, behind

Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi (; ; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed ''The Doctor'', he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcyc ...

. His achievements include three

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

s at the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

meeting (1985, 1988 and 2000), where he won a record 26 races in total. A curve at the 26th milestone on the Isle of Man was named in his honour. During his career he won the

Ulster Grand Prix The Ulster Grand Prix is a motorcycle race that takes place on the Dundrod Circuit made up entirely of closed-off public roads near Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first races took place in 1922 and in 1935 and 1948 the Fédération Internatio ...

24 times. In 1986, he won a fifth consecutive TT Formula One world title; initially based on one race at the

after the loss of World Championship status from 1977-onwards and organised by the

Auto-Cycle Union The Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) is the governing body of motorcycle sport in Great Britain, including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, but excluding Northern Ireland.

, the title was eventually expanded to take in more rounds in other countries. He was awarded the MBE in 1986 for his services to the sport, and in 1996 he was awarded the OBE for his humanitarian work for children in Romanian

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

s, to which he had delivered clothing and food. Dunlop has featured in documentary films regarding his career: ''V Four Victory'' (1983), ''Joey – The Man Who Conquered the TT'' (2013) and ''

Road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

'' (2014). JoeyDunlopTT92

Charity work and recognition

Dunlop helped orphans in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, driving a van loaded with supplies to orphanages in Romania, Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina before the annual racing season began. In 1996, he received an OBE for his humanitarian work. After Dunlop's death, the ''Joey Dunlop Foundation'' was initiated, a charity that provides appropriate accommodation for disabled visitors to the Isle of Man. On 30 January 2015, Dunlop was voted Northern Ireland's greatest sports star by readers of the '' Belfast Telegraph'' newspaper.

Shipwreck

On the night of 23 May 1985, Dunlop was travelling from Northern Ireland to the Isle of Man for the annual TT races by sea, onboard the ''Tornamona'', a former fishing boat. The vessel had departed from Strangford, County Down with Dunlop, other riders, racing bikes and equipment onboard. Strong currents into

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough (from Old Norse ''Strangr Fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet"PlaceNames N ...

pushed the ''Tornamona'' onto St Patrick's Rock where her rudder broke off in a crevice. The boat sank and all 13 passengers and crew were rescued by the

Portaferry Portaferry () is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland, at the southern end of the Ards Peninsula, near the Narrows at the entrance to Strangford Lough. It is home to the Exploris aquarium and is well known for the annual Gala Week Flo ...

Lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

. The bikes were later recovered by divers.

Personal life

Dunlop married on 22 September 1972 at Ballymoney register office. He was the proprietor of a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in Ballymoney, and was highly superstitious, always wearing a red

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

and his yellow crash helmet when racing. Dunlop was presented with the Freedom of the Borough by Ballymoney Council in 1993.

Death

Dunlop died on 2 July 2000 in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

, Estonia, while leading a 125cc race (he had already won the 750cc and 600cc events) on

Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa Circuit Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa Circuit ( et, Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa ringrada) is an inactive street circuit in Tallinn, Estonia. It is located in Pirita in Kloostrimets (''Monastery Forest''), crosses the Pirita River twice. The length of the ori ...

. 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. Northern Ireland television carried live coverage of his funeral. 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. Statue-tt-races-snaefell

Joey Dunlop Memorial in Ballymoney - geograph

Legacy

The most successful overall rider at the annual TT races is awarded the "Joey Dunlop Cup". A memorial statue was erected in his home town of Ballymoney. On the Isle of Man, a statue of Dunlop astride a Honda overlooks the Bungalow Bend at

Snaefell Snaefell ( on, snjœ-fjall/snjó-fall – snow mountain) – ( gv, Sniaull) is the highest mountain and the only summit higher than on the Isle of Man, at above sea level. The summit is crowned by a railway station, cafe and several communica ...

and the 26th Milestone area of the TT course was named "Joey's". A memorial stone was installed at the crash site in Tallinn as well. Irish publishers ''The O'Brien Press'' produced a full-colour pictorial tribute to Dunlop following his death. Northern Ireland band

Therapy? Therapy? are a Northern Irish rock band from Larne, formed in 1989 by guitarist-vocalist Andy Cairns and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing. Therapy? recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar. To complete the lineup, the band r ...

recorded a song in memory of Dunlop, called ''Joey''; it appeared on the album '' Shameless'', released in 2001. Following his death, the Leisure Centre in his hometown of Ballymoney was renamed from the Riada Centre to the Joey Dunlop Leisure Centre. In 2001, the Joey Dunlop Memorial Garden was established in the Dunlop family's hometown, and in 2010 the tribute was extended to include the Robert Dunlop Memorial Garden to honour Joey's late brother, Robert Dunlop.Dunlop family split over memorial gardens plan
'' Belfast Telegraph'', 6 November 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2021 On 26 February 2022, a statue of William Dunlop, son of Robert and nephew of Joey, was added to the Memorial Garden. William died while racing at the Skerries 100 event in 2018.Memorial: Statue unveiled of tragic road-racer Dunlop in his native Ballymoney
'' Belfast Telegraph'', 26 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022

Racing record

Complete TT record

Ulster Grand Prix The Ulster Grand Prix is a motorcycle race that takes place on the Dundrod Circuit made up entirely of closed-off public roads near Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first races took place in 1922 and in 1935 and 1948 the Fédération Internatio ...
: 24 victories

North West 200: 13 victories

Formula TT The Formula TT was a racing class for motorcycles from 1977 to 1990 as the official World Cup under the umbrella of International Motorcycling Federation. It was in three engine capacity classes, and was divided into both two and four-stroke engi ...
World Championship

World Grand Prix Championships

World Formula 750 Championship

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...

Imola 200

World Superbikes Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded i ...
(WSBK) 1988

(Dunlop had 30 points accumulated and was lying 3rd in the championship up until the TT races, however he stopped competing in the championship and still managed to finish 13th in the final championship table.)

References

External links

The official Joey Dunlop websiteJoey Dunlop FoundationTribute page on the TT websiteBilld's Joey stamps on FlickrNorth West 200 Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunlop, Joey 1952 births 2000 deaths Isle of Man TT riders Motorcycle racers who died while racing British motorcycle racers Motorcycle racers from Northern Ireland Officers of the Order of the British Empire People associated with Ulster University Segrave Trophy recipients Sport deaths in Estonia People from Ballymoney Superbike World Championship riders

Joey Joey may refer to: People *Joey (name) Animals * Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial * Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets Film and television * ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horac ...