Honouring Choctaw & Irish Ancestors (Official Team Cycle)

The remarkable and ongoing connection between the citizens of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the people of Ireland is known to many of us. Beginning in earnest in 1847, when the Choctaw sent a donation to Ireland's starving poor during An Gorta Mór (the Great Irish Famine), the relationship is as alive and as vibrant today as it has ever been. This is a relationship that reflects resilience, strength, continuance, reciprocity, and friendship.

Now, to honour the courage and memory of our ancestors we will join the Choctaw Nation Trail of Tears Bike team 2025 . The first Irish riders to ever join the team, Andrew Castles and I will participate in a 7-day cycle that follows one of the historic routes walked by the Choctaw during their Removal from their tribal homelands. Our journey in May 2025 will serve as an act of remembrance even as we celebrate enduring historic moments of alliance and exchange.

Please join with us in this goal by helping us to make the trip with our friends and teammates from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. We sincerely hope to make significant donations to the Trail of Tears Bike Team, as well as covering many of the costs of travelling to Oklahoma. All donations made - however small - will help to ensure that future Trail of Tears team cycles will be possible, while also honouring the gift that the tribe sent to Ireland. We must never forget our past, and we must plot a route to a shared, supportive, and healthy future. Let's keep the cycle going!