In the third part of Cycling Ireland's ‘A Look Back at 2025’ series, we reflect on an exciting year for Coaching and Education. It was a busy year with 19 courses throughout the year, including the continued rollout of courses and the launch of the new Introduction to Cycling Coaching.
Ride Leader courses continued to play a vital role in strengthening cycling leadership across Ireland in 2025, with nine sessions attracting 72 participants nationwide. These courses not only equipped club groups and individual riders with essential skills but also helped raise the standard of safe and inclusive cycling.
A major highlight was the delivery of three UCI coaching courses. A UCI Level 1 and UCI level 2 course took place at Corkagh Park, with the second UCI Level 1 course running at Kilbroney Park in Ulster. As a result, 47 new UCI coaches are qualified; 31 at Level 1 and 16 at Level 2, marking a significant boost to the coaching network and ensuring more riders have access to expert guidance.
The ongoing partnership between UCI and CI ensures that Irish coaches benefit from world class standards and best practices, raising the quality of training and creating a strong foundation for the growth of participation in cycling nationwide.
In addition to the UCI Coaching Courses run in Ireland, Ted McCaffrey from Donegal completed the UCI Level 2 Coaching Course in Cyclo-cross. Click here to read more about his qualification.
In 2025, four Trail Cycle Leader (TCL) courses were delivered alongside a range of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for coaches. Several webinars supported both qualified and aspiring coaches, covering key topics such as Physical Literacy and Coaching Athletes with Disabilities.
The year concluded with an insightful session led by internationally renowned coach Brian Nugent, titled “Creating the Perfect Training: Does It Exist and How Do We Do It?” The event sparked lively discussion and received overwhelmingly positive feedback. These initiatives demonstrate Cycling Ireland’s commitment to raising coaching standards and fostering an inclusive, knowledgeable coaching community.
Cycling Ireland piloted and launched its new Introduction to Cycling Coaching course at Limerick Racecourse at the end of 2025. This one-day course is designed for anyone curious about coaching, whether they’re unsure where to start, have a growing interest, or simply want to refresh their skills.
Accredited by Sport Ireland, the course aims to spark a passion for giving back to the sport while providing practical tools to begin sharing knowledge and experience. By lowering the barriers to entry, this initiative helps build a stronger coaching community and ensures the sport we love continues to thrive.
Courses will be rolled out nationwide over the coming months.
Cycle Right
The Cycle Right Programme has enjoyed another successful year with over 100 Trainers delivering practical cycle safety training in primary schools across the Republic of Ireland. Almost 43,500 children participated in Stage 1 training in 2025, in over 1,200 primary and special schools.
Supported by the Department of Transport and the Road Safety Authority, Cycle Right is the largest cycling participation programme of its kind. Focusing on developing safe cycling skills to promote sustainable travel and road safety, the programme is a mix of theory and practical sessions which give children the knowledge and confidence to use their bikes more often for short journeys, where possible.
The programme continues to grow and has seen a considerable increase in participation from 2024. 22 new Trainers have been qualified, and we look forward to working with them to deliver courses in more schools in 2026.
Department of Transport senior representatives visited the CI offices earlier this month to discuss the continued collaboration with CI on the Cycle Right programme. Funding contributions from the Department of Transport and the Road Safety Authority provide significant subsidies for Stage 1 Cycle Right training around the country, without which the programme could not operate on such a significant scale.
Click here to find out more about Cycle Right.
Reflecting on the year Catherine Flanagan, Cycle Right and Coaching Manager said:
“2025 has been an exciting and busy year for both Cycle Right and Coaching. We've delivered more courses, qualified new coaches and launched exciting new initiatives to make cycling safer and more accessible. Our focus now is on building more opportunities in 2026 to grow participation, strengthen partnerships and provide opportunities so more riders have access to the expertise they need.
"Thank you to our funding partners, the Department of Transport and the Road Safety Authority. Without their continue support these courses would not be possible.”