I am an elder in the Ballyclare Reformed Presbyterian Church, which is in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Ballyclare is 13 miles from Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. My wife, Ann, and I have been members of the congregation since 1971. The Wright family have been Covenanters in Northern Ireland since the 1700s and no doubt emigrated from Scotland to Ireland.

I have an affinity with America. I was born on the 4th of July. My mother gave me the name George Franklin, after Franklin D. Roosevelt. (Some years ago, I was photographed standing alongside a statue of President Roosevelt in the Empire State Building.) I met my wife here in Northern Ireland at a concert performed by the male voice choir from Wheaton College in Illinois.

Motorcycle Sport

Motorcycling and motorcycle sport is very popular in Northern Ireland, especially road racing. This is a unique sport where public roads are closed and become the race track. One major road race here is the International North West 200. It is called 200 because the initial race was 200 miles.

This event is held in May on an 8-mile circuit, taking in the seaside resorts of Portrush and Portstewart and the inland town of Coleraine. The racing takes place on a Thursday night and all day Saturday. Attendance on Saturday is around 100,000. The circuit is on the public roads through the towns and the countryside. Riders come to compete from many different countries. On parts of the course, speeds of over 200 mph have been reached.

Ballyclare Motorcycle Group

The Ballyclare Motorcycle Group reached a milestone on Oct. 16, 2021, when we celebrated our 20th outing. We had a great time with 18 riders (including two ladies) journeying to the North An-trim Coast, Torr Head, and the Dark Hedges, before enjoying a delicious lunch at Nico’s in Ballymoney.

Although I always had an interest in motorbikes and road racing, I did not start riding until later in life. I purchased a motorbike as a means of transport for the eight miles into Belfast, where I worked in local government.

During “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland, a Motorbike Peace Ride was held annually for a few years. I joined it with around 500 others. This gave me the idea of holding a small outing from our church. I contacted a number of bikers, and the Ballyclare Motorcycle Group had its inaugural out-ing in the summer of 2000. It has been held every year since then, with two exceptions.

Initially, the motorcycle outing was held so that bikers could enjoy riding, friendship, food, and scenery together. This is still the case, but for the last number of years it is also used as an out-reach. A table is set up with free Biker Bibles (distributed by the Christian Motorcyclists Association) and also various tracts with biking and racing themes.

Each year, people are asked to invite friends, so there is a mix of Christians and non-Christians. People from many walks of life take part: farmers, ministers, teachers, nurses, policemen, school principals, commercial pilots, councillors, and many others.

We meet at our church hall on a Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. for tea, coffee, and cakes. Two ladies, Ann Wright and Anne Milliken, kindly do the hosting. Before departure, at around 11 a.m., our minister, Rev. Nathan Hawthorne, commits us to the Lord in prayer. Nathan is also a biker and road race fan.

Ian Andrew, who grew up in our congregation and is now a retired police motorcyclist, very kindly makes out a route and is our lead motorcyclist. He also books a restaurant for lunch. We find the lunch time to be an excellent opportunity to get to know newcomers, make friends, and be a witness just by our presence and conversation. Those who are non-Christians soon realize that we Christian bikers do not use bad language or engage in certain dubious topics of conversation.

Over the years, we have traveled to various places within Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The following are some examples of places of historical interest that we have visited.

Castle Archdale

Castle Archdale is in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, and is a former estate on the shores of Lough Erne Lower. Today, the main feature is Castle Archdale Country Park.

During the Second World War, it was a Royal Air Force major base for flying boats, with 2,500 personnel. This was due to its close proximity to the Atlantic, about 30 miles away. Unfortunately, those 30 miles lay across County Donegal, a part of neutral Eire, the present-day Republic of Ire-land. However, a secret deal was struck between Britain and the Irish Republic that allowed the aircraft to overfly Donegal along a narrow corridor to reach the Atlantic.

This concession gave the Sunderland and Catalina flying boats an extra 100 miles range, which was crucial to the protection of the Atlantic convoys and the detection of enemy ships and submarines.

The most historic event of the Castle Archdale RAF base happened at 10:30 a.m. on May 26, 1941. Catalina Z of 209 Squadron sighted the dreaded German battleship Bismarck. David Briggs was the pilot and Ensign Leonard (Tuck) Smith from America was the copilot. Tuck was one of seven Americans attached to the RAF at Castle Archdale as observers. It was actually Tuck who spotted the ship, but because America was neutral at the time, he did not get the credit for it until some time later. With the location of the ship revealed, the Royal Navy was able to find it and to sink it the next day.

The Vow

On one outing, we visited a country district called The Vow, County Antrim, about 25 miles from our church. Here we stopped at a commemoration stone, marking the amazing ministry of Reformed Presbyterian minister William Martin, who was born May 16, 1729, and died Oct. 25, 1806.

He was ordained at this location on July 2, 1757, being the first Irish-born RP minister in Ireland. At the time, there were no church buildings, so he would have preached in houses and outdoors. The Covenanters were descended from Scottish settlers, who came over to Ulster in the 1660s. In October 1772, Martin emigrated with 460 families for the New World in the Americas. He landed in South Carolina in December 1772 and established numerous new congregations.

Malin Head

Another place we have visited, perhaps the furthest, is Malin Head. Malin Head is located on the Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal, in the Republic of Ireland. It is the most northerly point of the island of Ireland.

Malin Head, wild and rugged, has long been renowned for its epic coastal scenery, thriving bird-life, and historical curiosities. The Vikings visited here centuries ago. Also, it was chosen, along with other areas of The Wild Atlantic Coast, for filming the Star Wars movie The Last Jedi.

Billy Graham Library

In October 2018, my wife, Ann, and I had the wonderful privilege of visiting the Billy Graham Library, in Charlotte, N.C. As a young Christian back in the 1960s, I was greatly blessed and encouraged by Dr. Graham’s weekly broadcast of the Hour of Decision. I have always taken a keen interest in his ministry.

Our stay in Charlotte coincided with the Billy Graham Library Bikers with Boxes Day. This is held annually in October on a Saturday morning, when bikers from North Carolina and surrounding states bring shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse.

This was a delight and thrill for me to witness the largest number of motorcycles I have ever seen in one location. There were approximately 1,300 bikes. The number of boxes received was over 5,750. Although it rained that morning, it was a great experience. When I was out in the rain admiring the bikes, the executive director of the library, Scott Holmquist, discovered that I was from Ire-land and offered up a lovely prayer under our umbrellas!

Thankfulness

We must give thanks to God for His protection over us in traveling mercies. Here in Northern Ire-land, there are many narrow roads, with lots of corners. In the countryside, there are tractors and farm vehicles on the roads, along with cars and people walking.

Some slight accidents have occurred involving only the bikers. Thankfully, there have been no serious injuries. On one occasion going through a mountainous area with no hedges, one rider collided with a sheep on the road. Mercifully the sheep came off the worst.

Invitation

I trust that you have enjoyed this Ballyclare Motorcycle Group journey. We would not expect you to join us on a ride-out, but we would give you a cordial invitation to come to Ireland, North and South, and visit our RP churches. You will be given a very warm Irish welcome to the Emerald Isle.