National Bikers Memorial

As most will be aware, the Gone But Not Forgotten Bikers Memorial committee, in its current guise, has been working together for over 23 years now. Helping keep the memories of our loved ones alive and offering an annual focal point for grieving families to meet others and receive the support of knowing they’re not alone.

What you may not know is that our history goes back even further than that. Starting in 1986 with the Brendan McDonnell memorial bike run. That run evolved into the Gone But Not Forgotten Memorial bike run which in turn further evolved in 2003 into the Gone But Not Forgotten Memorial service in Aghadrumsee, Co. Fermanagh and due to numbers attending, now of the Sacred Heart church, Clones, Co. Monaghan

Our annual memorial will continue every May, however, the needs of those grieving and the biking community means we are evolving once again.

Since our initial announcement of plans to erect a Permanent Memorial to our friends and loved ones back in November 2022 we have made slow, but continuous progress. Today we are delighted to move to the next phase of this journey, the fundraising phase. In order to get to the construction and opening of the new permanent National Bikers Memorial we need your support. Our aim is to erect a memorial that will be a significant piece of public art, as befits a National Memorial, to the memory of our friends and loved ones. It will be open 365 days a year, offering grieving people the opportunity to visit at a time of their choosing, to reflect on happier times with the people they loved, to lose themselves in memories of great times spent together or just enjoy a laugh at the antics shared while travelling the roads on two wheels. It will be a professionally designed and constructed sculpture following an open and transparent procurement process. It will be situated, like the annual memorial service, in Clones, Co. Monaghan, a town known for its great welcome for bikers. It will be in a central, peaceful, scenic and easily accessible location.

Unfortunately, to make this a reality there will be a significant cost. We hope that all of the biking community can come together, as only the biking community can, and help us raise the money to see this very worthwhile project through to its completion.

Our target is €65,000. Which is most definitely a large amount, but given our desire to create something that is a tangible fitting tribute to the memory of our friends and family we hope that Bikers throughout Ireland (and indeed further afield) will donate whatever they can, large or small, to bring this worthwhile project to fruition.

We’d further ask that our biker friends, both individuals and Clubs, will share this Go Fund Me page widely so we can reach as many bikers and their families as possible. We have one shot at this and we want to create something of beauty and of healing. Something that will draw bikers and their families back again and again. Giving people a feeling of closeness to their loved ones.

We will give regular updates via this go fund me page, our social media page and our website, as we progress through the procurement/design stage and finally construction.

Thank you all very much for the support you offer our large biking family everyday of every week. We are sure that this support will continue support for decades to come.

Ride safe.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh/thank you all.

Bikers Memorial committee.