Cycling TD flung from his bike in horror crash

A few weeks after cycling the length of the country in under 24 hours, Galway politician Ciaran Cannon was flung from his bike by a motorist and sustained a broken knee on his way to a charity cycle in Clifden.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Deputy Cannon revealed that he had surgery for a tibial plateau fracture, a part of the knee that supports the shin.

The accident happened last Friday evening in Moycullen when the SUV driver was turning up the road beside the Forge pub and restaurant and the Fine Gael representative was cycling towards Oughterard.

“I’ve been cycling for 40 years and this is the first time I’ve been hit. It was inevitable I suppose, the odds are against you that you’re going to be knocked over at some stage. He didn’t even see me. The next thing I was on his bonnet.”

Amazingly the bike escaped without a scratch. Alas the same cannot be said for the former minister of state in education and foreign affairs and the current Fine Gael spokesperson on arts, culture and media.

“It’s a serious enough injury. I can’t put weight on it for three months. It’s in a special brace so that I can keep the muscles moving and keep the joint flexible. Cycling is actually very good for it. They feel because I cycle already it will make the rehabilitation easier.”

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now – or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie