The connections that County Cork has to going very, very fast on a motorcycle on two wheels and even one, run deeper than many realise. From the heroic Irish land-speed record of 294.56 km/h (183.03 mph), set by Mel Nolan in 1981 and unbroken to this day, to the extraordinary Guinness World Record for the fastest kilometre wheelie, a blistering 350.59 km/h (217.85 mph) achieved by Ted Brady in 2017, Cork’s riders and a few car drivers have carved out a remarkable legacy of speed.
FIRST IRISH SPEED RECORD
In July 1903, American-born British politician, soldier and early motor-racing driver Maurice Arnold de Forest (Bischoffsheim) set both the first official Irish land speed record and a new World Land Speed Record. He recorded 138.2 km/h (85.9 mph) in 26.35 seconds over a *flying kilometer in Phoenix Park, Dublin and won The Autocar Challenge Cup while driving a French-built 70 hp Mors (Société d’Électricité et d’Automobiles Mors).
*A “flying kilometre” is a speed trial, not a race against other cars, where a vehicle has a distance to accelerate before entering a measured 1-kilometre (0.62-mile) zone at maximum velocity
- Record Holder: Maurice Arnold de Forest (Bischoffsheim)
- Speed: 138.2 km/h (85.9 mph)
- Location: Phoenix Park Dublin
- Date: July 1903
- Vehicle: 70 hp Mors (Société d’Électricité et d’Automobiles Mors)
JOSEPH WRIGHT
In November 1930, Joseph Wright rode a Zenith motorcycle at 242.5 km/h (150.7 mph) along the Carrigrohane Straight just outside Cork city. The Straight runs for 4.43 km (2.75 miles from the western edge of the city to Carrigrohane and is one of the few roads in Europe suitable for record attempts, lying within one degree of flatness over 3.54 kms (2.2 miles). It was also among the first concrete road surfaces in Ireland, or Britain. Wright’s record remains listed in the official FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) register, although the actual motorcycle model is recorded incorrectly.
A OEC-Temple-JAP and a Zenith-JAP were both present on the day of the record attempt. As outlined in the excellent Stolen Glory: Zenith, OEC and the 1930 World Speed Record in The Vintagent, the OEC (Osborn Engineering Company) was the primary machine, fitted with an 85 hp supercharged JAP 994 cc engine, while the Zenith served as a back-up.
During the attempt, the Woodruff key securing the OEC’s drive sprocket to the crankshaft sheared, preventing the bike from completing the required two-way timed runs. With the main machine sidelined, the team turned to the Zenith.
As Zenith had gone out of business earlier that year, and OEC were footing all the bills for the record attempt, they were effectively able to swap motorcycles without challenge. The switch was kept quiet and the official FIM record still credits the OEC. In reality, the 242.5 km/h (150.7 mph) run on 6 November 1930 along the Carrigrohane Straight in Cork was set on the Zenith.
- Record Holder: Joseph Wright
- Speed: 242.5 km/h (150.7 mph)
- Location: Carrigrohane Straight, Cork
- Date: November 6th 1930
- Vehicle: Zenith-JAP 85hp supercharged 994cc engine
MORE RECORDS
The Carrigrohane Straight continued its reputation as a proving ground for high-speed motoring long after Joseph Wright’s 1930 run. In 1953 Dubliner Harry Lindsay returned to the same stretch of road and set a new Irish unofficial motorcycle record of 230.13 km/h (143 mph) on a 1,000cc Vincent.
A generation later, in June 1978, Dublin man Danny Keany, managing director of Danfay (Yamaha) Distributors, raised the bar again. Riding a 750 cc four-cylinder two-stroke Yamaha, he set a national land speed record of 260.11 km/h (161.628 mph).
That same day Rosemary Smith added her name to the record books. Driving Mick Hill’s Jaguar XJ6 with a seven-litre Chevrolet engine, she established an Irish land speed record for a car at 251.22 km/h (156.101 mph).
CURRENT IRISH LAND SPEED RECORD
Mel Nolan, known as the “Flying Corkman,” set the Irish land speed record that still stands today. On 18 July 1981, on the Carrigrohane Straight, he achieved 294.56 km/h (183 mph) over the flying kilometre on his home-built, nitrous-oxide turbocharged Honda motorcycle. He later added a 1000 cc Flying Mile record of 289.46 km/h (179.86 mph) and reached a top speed of 307.510 km/h (191.07 mph).
Speaking to John Bohane of Echo Live, Mel recalled the morning vividly: “I can remember that fateful morning so well. It was a great achievement. It was a big morning for Cork. There was a big turnout at 4.30am. The road was closed until 8am. The atmosphere was electric. I can still recall the mist hanging over the grass in the Lee Fields.
“I got my first world record in England, but I really wanted the Irish land speed record and to set a world record at home. The Irish land speed record still stands but the world record is gone. Records are made to be broken,” he said.
WORLD WHEELIE RECORD
Not content with simply going fast on two wheels, Cork biker Ted Brady went very fast on just one. In 2017 he became the official Guinness World Record holder for the fastest kilometre wheelie, recording an astonishing 350.59 km/h (217.85 mph) maintaining that speed on the back wheel for a full kilometre.
The Guinness World Wheelie Championship is held at Elvington Airfield in North Yorkshire, one of the longest publicly accessible runways in the UK. The length of the runway allows riders a full kilometre to build up speed before entering the timing gates and a similar distance beyond to slow down safely.
Brady’s Suzuki Hayabusa was heavily reworked by Holeshot Racing in Co. Down and after extensive tuning the turbocharged bike was producing about 540 bhp.
UNOFFICIAL RECORD
Martin Birrane, owner of Mondello Park and, for a period, of Lola Cars one of the world’s oldest and largest racing car manufacturers, set an unofficial Irish land speed record in 1990. Driving a 3-litre Porsche on an unopened section of Dublin’s newly built M50 motorway, he achieved an average speed of 283 km/h (176 mph).
THE FUTURE OF SPEED
While we do not encourage or condone high speeds on public roads, it is notable that the current Irish land speed record of 307.510 km/h (191.07 mph) set in 1981, is edging closer to being matched by cars available to ordinary motorists. On November 12th 2025, near Ballacolla, Co. Laois, a Garda traffic unit pursued a speeding vehicle later described in court as a “bog standard Audi A4 Estate,” with the officers estimating its speed at 262 km/h (163.42 mph).
Check out our previous video: 217.85 mph wheelie – fastest kilometre wheelie Ted Brady from Cork | Season 1 – Episode 61
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Sources of Information, Video & Photo Credits:
British Jews in the First World War website
Brough Superior website
CR’s Video Vaults
Hockenheim Museum Archive
Laois Nationalist
Newstalk
Ride Apart Magazine
Stolen Glory: Zenith, OEC and the 1930 World Speed Record – The Vintagent
The Cork Evening Echo
Wiki
Wild Atlantic Way
