Republic of Ireland rider Derek Sheils in action at the 2019 Kells road races

On Friday, the organisers said in a statement that the event in June (19-20) had been called off because of the risk of financial loss, due to the potential for a last-minute cancellation as a result of Covid-19 restrictions in the Republic of Ireland.

The statement said:

“Due to current uncertainty with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the North Meath Road Races Ltd Committee have decided not to run our event in June 2021. It would be too much of a financial loss to the club to have to cancel last minute due to Covid-19 restrictions.

“We would rather cancel it early so riders are not out of pocket preparing bikes for a road race season that is not likely to run. We are very disappointed to make this announcement but we have a duty of care to residents, volunteers, riders and of course the general public. We look forward to returning in 2022.”

The Irish road racing season was decimated last year by the pandemic, with the rescheduled Cookstown 100 in September the only race to take place.


This year’s Isle of Man TT has been cancelled, while the North West 200 remains in doubt.

A final decision on the North West is expected by the end of January or early February.