County Louth Man Tommy Greene Won the 1913 French Grand Prix | Season 5 – Episode 39
Wheels May 16, 2025
Here on Ireland Made – Stories of Irish Transport, we focus on showcasing the unsung heroes of Irish motorsport. In this episode, we delve into the remarkable story of County Louth man, Tommy Greene (1886 – 1973) : Rudge Works rider, TT racer, 51-year holder of the Irish end-to-end race record, speed endurance champion, winner of the 1913 French Grand Prix, and setter of countless other endurance speed records.
BORN IN LOUTH
According to Norman Greene, grandson of Tommy Greene, Tommy was born in Blackrock, Co. Louth, in 1886. However, when he was very young, the family relocated to the Arsenal area of London, as his father had secured work there. The family later returned to Ardee after several years.
Tommy eventually moved to Dublin, where he worked in a bicycle shop and became a skilled bike frame maker by trade. He soon began crafting racing frames and importing engines to install in them.
FIRST BIKE
In 1906, Tommy assembled his first motorcycle, combining a frame he built himself with a 275cc FN engine and Chater-Lea accessories. He named it the “Wellington Special” and even attached a trailer. After a series of traffic mishaps involving his homemade motorcycle and trailer—while trying to impress the young woman who would later become Mrs. Greene—a detective intervened and arrested Tommy. He spent the night in the Bridewell and was fined £5 in court the next day.
In an interview with Matt Whelan of Two Wheels Magazine in July 1973, Tommy recalled: “I was fed up and decided to leave (Ireland). My boss found me at the booking office where I was trying to decide whether to go to South Africa, Canada, or Australia. He took me home, and before I knew it, the tricky bloke had all my money and I owned his motorcycle shop.” He added, “I couldn’t leave, so I settled down, got married, and started to repair bikes.”
FIRST RACE
Now the owner of a motorcycle shop, Tommy set about building his second motorbike, this time powered by a 2¾ hp Peugeot engine. In 1907, he took the bike to Jones Road recreation ground—now known as Croke Park—and won his first race. The event featured nine starters competing over ten laps (five miles). Tommy’s Peugeot-powered bike was the oldest in the field, and with it being his first competitive ride, bookmakers gave him long odds of 20-1. His father and a visiting friend from New Zealand placed a £1 bet on him.
Always an innovator, Tommy pioneered the “bump” start during that race. In his interview with Two Wheels Magazine, he recalled: “I was the only one without pedals on my bike, so it was a matter of run and jump. Funnily, that gave me the lead at the start and I went on to win. There were only three finishers.”
Tommy added with typical humour: “My father and his friend won £21—and with pints at two pence each, they didn’t even know their own religion for two weeks!”
RUDGE WORKS RIDER
In 1911, Tommy built another bike, which he named the Blackrock Special after his hometown in County Louth. Powered by a 3½ horsepower Waverley engine, he took it to Portmarnock Beach, where riders raced across the sand, often through water up to the axles at high tide. “I won the Rudge-Whitworth Trophy for a 100-mile handicap, and that marked the real start of my racing career,” Tommy later said.
Also competing that day were factory-backed Rudge riders, who were astonished when the little-known Irishman on his self-built machine beat them soundly. After the race, a representative from the Rudge factory in Coventry approached Tommy with an offer he couldn’t refuse. He became a Rudge works rider and mechanic, beginning a long and storied partnership with the marque.
IRISH END-TO-END
On August 16th 1909, C.E. Murphy rode a 1909 Triumph from Rock Island, County Cork, to Malin Head, County Donegal, in 13 hours and 6 minutes. One of Tommy’s first assignments with Rudge was to challenge this 400-mile Irish end-to-end record. On April 4th 1913, he covered the 396 miles from Rock Island Coast Guard Station to Balvoy on his 3½ hp Rudge in just 10 hours and 38 minutes, averaging 37.5 mph—a record that stood unbroken for 51 years.
EUROPEAN ROAD RACING
Tommy’s racing adventures with Rudge next took him to Spain, where he competed in the Bilbao to San Sebastián and back road race. The race was chaotic and dangerous: spectators lunched casually in the middle of the road, some fired revolvers as riders passed, and while leading Tommy lost the win after mistakenly stopping in a crowd of spectators, only for the eventual winner to slip past and cross the actual finish line.
He then entered the Giro d’Italia, a punishing five-day, 150 km road race described by Lo Sport Illustrato as “a colossal trial showcasing the incredible advances of the motorcycle industry.” The race was so unprecedented that officials had no formal rules to govern it. Tommy’s attempt was marred by sabotage. At the time, most non-Italian riders, including Tommy, used Dunlop tyres, while the Italian teams rode on Pirellis. In a bid to ensure an Italian victory, saboteurs spread tacks on sharp corners and parked cars in the road to obstruct foreign competitors and many riders crashed. Tommy sustained two broken ribs and a cracked kneecap and no prizes were awarded due to unsportsmanlike behaviour.
ISLE OF MAN TT
1913 was a year of fierce competition for Tommy, highlighted by his entry in the Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy). He raced on a Rudge Multi, a belt-drive machine capable of reaching 80 mph. However, the new wire-edged tyres, designed for rapid changes during races, had a critical flaw—they were equally prone to coming off at high speeds. As a result, 13 of the 15 Rudge works riders, including Tommy, were forced to retire from the race.
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We believe that Tommy Greene’s Rudge-Whitworth TT race bike, registration IK 621, still exists and is currently in private ownership somewhere in Ireland. Can anyone confirm this?
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FRENCH GRAND PRIX
Amongst a long line of records and race wins, Tommy Greene is perhaps best known as the first place winner of the 1913 French Grand Prix, racing on his 20-gear Rudge TT Superbike at an average of 81 km/h.
The first French Grand Prix took place on 26th June 1906 at Sarthe, organized by the Automobile Club de France, with 32 cars competing for a 45,000-franc prize (about €188,000 today). Early races were held on public roads near towns like Le Mans, Dieppe, and Lyon. Dieppe’s 79 km circuit in particular was notoriously dangerous, claiming nine lives over three events.
GRAND PRIX ROUTE
The 1913 Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France (A.C.F.) ran from July 11th to 13th on the Picardy circuit near Amiens in northern France. It was a major international event, drawing the leading drivers and manufacturers of racing cars, motorcycles, and cyclecars of the time.
The 19-mile (31 km) Picardy circuit was notoriously dangerous, featuring a 7.1-mile straight. Five people lost their lives during pre-race testing and the race weekend itself.
Cars raced 29 laps (917 km), motorcycles 20 laps (350 km), and cyclecars 15 laps (262 km). Reports at the time claimed a crowd of 100,000 spectators, with 1,500 soldiers deployed to maintain order.
COMPETITORS & MACHINES
The competitors represented five nations: France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and the United Kingdom, which included Ireland at the time.
Tommy Greene wasn’t the only Irish entrant in the French Grand Prix. Kenelm Lee Guinness, of the Guinness family, competed as an official driver for Sunbeam. In 1912, he founded KLG spark plugs and later set a new Land Speed Record in 1922 at 121.54 mph (195.60 km/h). We’ll cover his remarkable career in a future story.
The 350 cc and 500 cc motorcycle classes brought together 47 competitors at the start, riding branded machines from Rudge (2), Triumph (3), BSA (2), Clément, Motosacoche, Douglas, Terrot, Griffon, Zenith, NSU, and Peugeot.
Twenty racing cars were registered, representing the following brands: Sunbeam (4), Delage (2), Opel (1), Mathis (1), Excelsior (2), Théo Schneider (4), Itala (3), and Peugeot (3).
There were 12 sidecar entries, each racing on machines from the following manufacturers: Bédélia (4), Morgan, Sphinx-Globe (2), Ronteix (2), Duo Cars (2), Anzani, Violet-Bogey (2), Mathis, Hawkes Dew Precision, Marlborough, Automobilette, Noel, Frazer-Nash, and GN.
In addition, 26 cyclecars were entered for the event.
THE WIN
The motorcycle Grand Prix was held on July 13th and saw the remarkable triumph of Tommy Greene astride his trusty 3½ hp, 499 cc Rudge-Whitworth, registration IK 621. The Rudge, a proven TT superbike, carried him to a commanding victory. Over the course of 20 laps, covering a punishing distance of 350 kilometres, Tommy maintained a masterful pace to finish in a time just exceeding four hours. His margin of victory was four minutes, with an average speed recorded at 81 km/h—a testament to both rider and machine.
Georges Boillot won the Grand Prix car race in a Peugeot, completing the race in 7 hours 53 minutes at an average speed of 116 km/h.
RUDGE-WHITWORTH 3½ HP
The Rudge-Whitworth 3½ HP was a highly capable motorcycle, equally suited to commuting, endurance racing, and military service in World War I.
Its innovative ‘Multi’ gear system, patented in 1911, provided up to 20 variable speeds via a tank-mounted lever, with gear ratios ranging from 3.5:1 to 7.5:1, allowing smooth adjustments and light pedal assistance for starting and hill climbing.
The 499 cc vertical single-cylinder engine featured an inlet-over-exhaust valve design, with an 85 mm x 88 mm bore and stroke. Fuel delivery came from a Senspray carburettor, and ignition was handled by a Ruthardt high-tension magneto.
According to the 1913 sales brochure, the spring forks offered “complete insulation from road vibration and perfect steering at all speeds.”
SPANISH GRAND PRIX
Following the French Grand Prix riders from the Rudge, Douglas, Triumph, and Humber teams travelled south for a race from Bilbao to San Sebastián and back. In the 500 cc class, Tommy Greene (Rudge) placed third, behind F.A. Applebee (Scott), who took first, and Torriegulta (Triumph), who finished second.
LAST LAND SPEED RECORD
In the early 1920s, Tommy Greene was still racing and setting endurance records. On November 25, 1922, at Brooklands Motor Circuit, England, Tommy Greene and Cyril Pullin rode in relay for 8½ hours, setting world records of 74.96 mph over 500 miles, 71.27 mph over 600 miles, and a six-hour speed record of 75.02 mph. This is believed to be the last motorcycle land speed record set at the Brooklands motor circuit.
AUSTRALIA
In 1968, Tommy Greene and his family finally emigrated to Australia, where he passed away in 1972 and was laid to rest in Sydney. The Greene family remains proud of his remarkable racing legacy, with his trophies still on display.
Thomas “Tommy” Edward Greene is remembered as a Rudge works rider, TT competitor, and the 51-year holder of the Irish end-to-end race record. He was a speed endurance champion, the winner of the 1913 French Grand Prix, and a pioneer in setting numerous endurance speed records.
If you have a story to share, please email Kevin Reid [email protected]
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Sources of Information and Photo Credits:
Bonhams
Classic Motorcycle Magazine
First Superspeedway
Grand Prix ACF 1913
Memoirs of a Rudge Rider – Matt Whelan
Memory and Regional History of Locomotion (MHRL) – Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France
Motorcycle Timeline
