Many are the claims that Speedway racing was invented by a man in a small town called Maitland in Australia’s New South Wales district in 1923, but yours truly would not agree to this use of the word ‘invented’.

I believe that speedway evolved from motor cycle road racing, scrambling, hill climbing and/ or off-course grass track racing, which took place in various parts of the world, long before the introduction of speedway as it is known today.

However, Johnny Hoskins, the man who was credited with the discovery of speedway, did in fact put speedway on the world market when he organized a motorcycle race in a local fairground in Maitland, with a view to raising a few shillings for a local hospital.

Johnny, it would appear, had drifted into the town, more or less penniless and took on a job in the local fairgrounds with a fund-raising committee. Having staged a motor cycle race on the fairground’s trotting track that proved to be reasonably successful, he continued to run the event weekly and soon changed the name to Speedway and the rest as they say, is history.

The motorbikes at that time were simple roadsters and to sturdy them up a little, the riders removed the head lamps and other accessories from their machines and rode them around the oval-shaped grass track with their shirt sleeves rolled up and no goggles, gloves or other fancy gear.

There was no safety fence, or loudspeakers, or for that matter time marshals or stewards and they simply started the race with a push start when a pistol was fired into the air. When the race was over, the lads put their bikes back together again and rode home, or at least those that could did and the unlucky few that couldn’t, just slept rough overnight and fixed their bikes as best they could the next morning.

Large crowds turned up for these races and Johnny, being a showman and entrepreneurial type, recognized a good money-spinner when he saw it. Having realized that this new sport had the potential to attract large crowds of spectators, he continued to run races throughout the rest of the season and hence Speedway was born.

It wasn’t long before Speedway tracks began to appear in Australia’s larger towns and cities and Johnny himself took his riders to Newcastle and later Sydney and Perth. Speedway reached High Beech in England in February 1928 and Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium in Dublin in September 1928 and that was the beginning of Speedway in Dublin.

This was one of the few times that I came across such a momentous happening, that grew into such a worldwide and much-loved sport, without the involvement of an Irish person somewhere along the way. I had to dig a little deeper into the history of motorbikes and motor cycle racing.

In so doing, I made two very pleasing discoveries, which more than rewarded me for my efforts and in my opinion put Ireland firmly on the map as far as Speedway racing was concerned.

My first discovery was when I came across a mention of a young girl who was a boarder pupil with Mrs Fletcher of 35 Fitzwilliam Square and later with Alexandra College in Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin, whose only wish in life was to own a motorcycle.

This young lady was Fay Taylour (pictured above), one of three daughters of Herbert Taylour, a District Inspector of the R.I.C in Birr, County Offaly. Eventually Fay, or to give her her full and proper name, ‘Frances Helen Taylour’, while still at school achieved her dream.

When she left Alexandra College she went to England, where she began to race motorbikes on grass tracks and also took part in motorcycle trials.

She eventually made her way to Australia and, while competing there, she rode against the best that Australia could throw at her and beat them all. Fay became one of the best Speedway riders in the world and soon earned the title of the ‘Queen of Speedway’.

My second finding also had me busting with excitement, when I discovered that an organized motorcycle race, similar to that which had taken place in Maitland in 1923, was held in Dublin in 1902.

This event, which was the first of two meetings, took place in Ashtown, Dublin on a proper oval-shaped cinder-based trotting track and, just like the riders and their bikes in Maitland some years later, the machines used were simple roadsters.

There were a few distinct differences between the two events. The Ashtown track was cinder-based, while the Maitland one was said to be a grass track. The bikes, though similar, were not stripped-down as they were in Maitland, but quite the opposite because, the Motor Cycle Union of Ireland stipulated that all the bikes had to be full roadsters, complete with mudguards etc.

The meetings in Ashtown had nothing to do with fund-raising or profits and the MCUI, having staged two meetings which were more or less trials, moved on and continued with their road racing and general motorcycling activities. Race track meetings, it would appear, were not to their liking.

The name ‘Speedway’ had as yet not been coined and most unfortunately no entrepreneurial type like Johnny Hoskins with an eye for showmanship and the knowledge on how to turn a shilling was in attendance. But nevertheless, dirt track racing, it must be argued, did begin in Dublin in 1902.

These storylines are extracts from George Kearns’s new book on the history of Speedway, which he hopes to have in the shops for Christmas 2008; however there is still time for anyone to get in touch with him, should they have any item of interest on Dublin speedway to pass onto to him, including old photos etc. Email George at: georgemamie@eircom.net or make contact with him through ‘NewsFour’.