'Heartfelt speech' by British Ambassador to Estonia as new feature unveiled at memorial to Northern Ireland motorcycling legend Joey Dunlop in Tallinn
The British Ambassador to Estonia delivered a “heartfelt” speech at the unveiling of a new feature at the Joey Dunlop memorial in Tallinn, Estonia.
The Northern Ireland motorcycling legend tragically lost his life aged 48 while competing at a race meeting in the Baltic state in July 2000.
The Tallinn memorial, located at the scene of his fatal accident, is a lasting tribute to the Ballymoney man, where hundreds of bikers turned out to mark the 25th anniversary of his passing this year on July 2.
Ross Allen, the British ambassador to Estonia, attended a ceremony with Kaido Saarniit, the elder of the Pirita District, and the initiator of the Joey Dunlop Memorial Rides, Allan Ameljušenko, to reveal a new information marker, which provides key details about the 26-time Isle of Man TT winner and five-time TT Formula 1 World Champion in Estonian and English.
The new information board also provides details about the race meeting at the Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa circuit, where Dunlop was competing a few weeks after the TT a quarter of a century ago.
During the unveiling, an ‘engaging overview of the history of the circuit and motorcycle racing was given by Pirita history enthusiast Peeter Pihlak’, according to the official Facebook page of the British Embassy in Tallinn.
A series of special events were held this year to mark the 25th anniversary of Joey’s untimely passing, which sent shockwaves around the world in 2000.
The biggest of these was the Joey 25 Celebration in his home town of Ballymoney in May, when an estimated 20,000 people turned out to pay homage to one of Northern Ireland’s most revered sporting icons.
The event was organised by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council in conjunction with the Dunlop family.
Roads around Ballymoney town centre were closed off as 25 of Joey’s former racing bikes were ridden in the Parade of Champions by many of his past team-mates, rivals and friends.
The parade was led by six-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea, whose father John was one of Joey’s earliest sponsors.
Carl Fogarty, a four-time World Superbike champion, also took part along with Ron Haslam and Leon Haslam, Brian Reid, Michael Rutter, Jeremy McWilliams, Eugene Laverty, Steve Cull, Adrian Archibald, Ryan Farquhar, Phillip McCallen and many more.