How it all started. Let me first introduce the oldest Harley-Davidson Club in Northern Ireland.

The Harley-Davidson Riders Club Northern Ireland was established in 1991, by it’s founder, Robert Burns. Robert believed that in owning a Harley and seeing other Harley riders on the road it was about time Northern Ireland had a Harley club. There was no sign of one being in existence so it was time to start one up. How do you start up a club with no funding for advertising etc.? On travelling around Northern Ireland he put up posters in bars, bike shops, service stations, cafes etc. 1000 posters in all. Remember, at this time Northern Ireland did not have a Harley-Davidson dealer, official or otherwise. The poster explained about the first gathering which was to be on August 12th 1991. A local newspaper had published a photo and short write up on the up and coming gathering, but the rest depended upon the 1000 posters. On the Saturday in question Robert rode to the meeting place, The King’s Head Bar in Balmoral, Belfast to meet up with anyone who might turn up. If no one else turned up, then at least he had tried. On leaving the bar 90 minutes later he was followed by 32 other Harleys. You would have thought he had swallowed a coat hanger sideways, with the smile on his face. The ride out proceeded up the Antrim coast towards Portrush, with a brief stop in Carnlough. Once at Portrush everyone got a bite to eat and talked Harley. Names and numbers were swapped and everyone went their separate ways. A success.

In December of that year Robert got everyone together who had been on the run to meet and discuss starting a club. Robert chaired the meeting and asked “Well if we are to have a club, we need a name, any suggestions” Ronnie Cassidy piped up from a silent room “Something with Harley in it would be a good idea”. So that set the tone for the rest of the night and ever since. The club of course became the Harley-Davidson Riders Club Northern Ireland, but everything was setup and run to give everyone a chance to speak and to have a laugh. One club member said that you can’t let anyone in who has a Harley, in the beginning we did, this was to include everyone and give them a chance to make the club into something. The membership had grown from 35 Harley-Davidsons to 65 Harley-Davidsons and back down to 35 when the club decided to get rid of the M.O.M's (mail order members). That one club member was right. The existing club members believe that any bike exists to be ridden, not just talked about, polished and photographed, although allot of that goes on but some past members thought that riding the bike was not what they were into. Although Northern Ireland is a tiny place we actually had club members we never saw out on their bikes, they were “let go” as club members. We also had club members leave for valid reasons, emigrating, family commitments, selling their bike etc. but most of them still remain very good friends of the club.

What else do we do?
We have run charity events and Easter Egg Runs to children's homes, Blood Run with MAG, Bigger than Borders (biggest European demonstration run from Stormont to Dublin) etc. HDRCNI hosted the 30th anniversary showing of Easy Rider at the Queens Film Theatre Belfast to raise money for the Marie Curie Hospice. We have attended rallies throughout Europe (Denmark, Italy, France, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Scotland, England, Wales, Greece etc.) and are a member of The European Federation of Harley-Davidson Riders Clubs (E.F.H.D.R.C) of which there are over 20,000 members. HDRCNI joined the Federation to communicate with others about our club and rallies and find the same information about other clubs. It also gives us all as Harley riders a greater voice when talking to European government, Harley-Davidson themselves and other riders’ groups. Its also a very good way of meeting like minded people throughout Europe and having great parties.

In 1992 we had our first rally in Dolly's Brae Inn, Castlewellan. It was a great success in a beautiful site in the Mourne Mountains, Co. Down. This was the bar that King William of Orange’s army stopped at in 1689, so an old pub. We had a band and a load of friends having a great time that weekend. We used this site for a number of rallies then outgrew it. We had to find a bigger bar with bigger and better camping facilities.

In 1995 we went out for a run as a club to find another location for our rallies. We had gone out with six bars to try out. The first was The Slaney Inn in Raholp, Downpatrick. We sampled the beer, talked to the landlord and inspected the site. To this day we have yet to get to the second pub on our list. The Slaney Inn is the ideal venue for rallies, why look any further? So from then on, all of our rallies have been held here, and if ever you go to one, you will understand why. The site itself is set in the rolling hills of County Down, just below St.Patrick’s shrine. The Slaney Inn which has three bars, a restaurant and marquee as well as two secure car parks to keep them separate to bikes is an ideal rally site. The food from the restaurant is locally produced, as is the “pub grub”. The club also has B-B-Qs at the rally site. Huge breakfasts for unbelievable prices are also organised through the bar, no complaints yet. Camping is literally at the back door of the bar, so no lengthy walks from the pub to the tent. We have camping for 800 tents, but God help us if we ever had that many turn up. The bars sell the best Caffreys I have ever drunk, Guinness is great and there is a great selection of girl’s drinks…..The bar is run by Eamon Hayes, the best landlord ever, but why take my word for it, come to the next rally and see for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.

As a club we also attend as many rallies as possible. In 1994 our club was presented with the biggest club turnout at the Harley Owners Club Ireland annual rally in Waterford, a rally we have attended since it’s beginning in 1992. This rally is traditionally held in the first weekend of July and should be attended by any Harley rider who wants an easy going, enjoyable rally. I would recommend this rally over many of the others I have been to, locally and internationally. Great bands, good friends and great craic.

The club.
The Northern Ireland Club members range in age from 20's to 60's. We are one of the very few institutions who do not judge people on their age, size, colour, political persuasion, religion, sex, dress sense, occupation or anything else, as long as each club member rides a Harley-Davidson nothing else matters. Riders come from all over Northern Ireland, some from further afield.

The refreshing thing about the club is the lack of people looking to inflate their egos. Most, if not all, members have been riding bikes for years, everything from British, Japanese and Harley etc. The Harley Davidson Riders Club Northern Ireland is just that, a club of people RIDING Harley- Davidsons. Some people who own Harleys are members of owner's clubs but our club members RIDE the bikes, hence the name of the club. People who remark about Harley riders posing and looking for attention are probably the ones who go on and on and on and on about how fast they are, or fast their bike is or what a fantastic car they have. This is just as boring about someone going on about how shiney or expensive their bike is. You ride a bike because it does what you want it to.

It's not the bike that makes the person it's the person that makes the bike. The beauty of Harleys is that you can make the bike what you want it. You can rig it up for touring, custom bike, or sports bike (Harley Davidson own the land speed record, 323.7 mph). That’s what customisation is all about. Each to their own.

Club Rallies
In May of 1996, The Harley-Davidson Riders Club Northern Ireland staged the biggest Harley-Davidson event in Northern Ireland ever. Through contacts in the European Federation of Harley-Davidson Riders we had clubs from Scotland, England, Ireland, Holland, France and Denmark come to our site at Downpatrick. No one had a complaint, in fact everyone wanted to return to the next rally. We have since made good friends in the Harley Owners Club Ireland (Waterford), Caledonia Harley Club (Scotland), HDRC Wales, HDRCGB, and many other Harley and non-Harley clubs.

Our rallies welcome Harley clubs and non-Harley clubs. Local clubs such as Boothill, The Ancestors, Storm Riders etc. are all regulars at our rallies.

The Harley-Davidson Riders Club Northern Ireland meet every first Tuesday of the month. There aren't many rules (owning a Harley is one though). The club normally organise a big rally in May, a smaller one in August/September and two Rock Nights in the Winter, apart from that we attend as many rallies as possible. These could be anything from small local rallies to The Super Rally, the biggest annual Harley rally held in Europe. We try to support MAG as much as possible and do a charity run once in a while. Sunday runs are organised from Comber square at 1:00 if anybody is feeling up to it, destination decided on the day. Generally we enjoy riding the bikes and if you own a Harley you also must enjoy working on the bikes.

The club exists to bring like minded people together to have good times, meet new friends and have more good times. Life is too short to continually try to separate yourself from others, find the right group of people and make the effort to join in. If you do I guarantee you will have far more smiles per mile. Seeing a snake of Harleys riding up the road in front of you on a journey to a rally is a sight, sound and feeling to remember until the day you croak......

See ya soon.

Robert Burns
Club Founder & President.