Cycle racing in Fermoy has been a popular sport since 1890.  At that time a group of enthusiasts, known as The Vagabond Cycling Club, competed at sports meetings and Road Races in the nearby Towns & Villages.

The next group to become involved were; Harry O'Sullivan and Jim O'Sullivan from Grange, Nicholas O'Connell from Clondulane, Peter Linehan, Harry Linehan and Mick Mawe from Coolagown and Ned Daly from Rathcormac.

In the period from 1915 to 1920, the outstanding rider was Jack Kenny from Kilworth. In 1930 Matt Linehan entered the arena and gave a great uplift to the Sport.  He won numerous Track races all over Ireland including the One Mile Championship of Ireland in 1938.  His death in a motorcycle accident in 1940, brought a brilliant career to an end.

Other local riders at this time were Bill Beecher, Ned Daly, Michael O'Connor, Sonny Kenny and Paddy Morrissey.  In 1945 a Club was formed in Grange under the leadership of Jerry Birmingham. Active members were Dick Fitzgerald, Paddy O'Brien, Pat O'Sullivan, Mark Cotter, Tom Kent, Bertie & Jack Moynihan, the O'Driscoll Brothers and Frank O'Sullivan. He set new track records in 1962 for the 1000m and the 1/4 mile. Other holders of Irish track titles were, Mick Twomey, John Hegarty, Rev. Peter Hegarty, Mick Moakley, Mick O'Connor and Mick Hegarty also won many track races. In 1964 Mick O'Connor won the Irish Youths Road Championship. In 1962 the Fermoy Team of Michael Twomey, Michael Hegarty & Michael O'Connor won the All Ireland Junior Road Race Championship.

Other prominent riders were, Tom Pratt, John Brislane, Paddy Jackson, Ray O'Sullivan, Tom Burke, John Kenny, Terry Kenny, Eddie O'Brien, Ciaran O'Connor, Tom Kenny, Jim Hennessy and Jerry Barry. Five riders from the Club, Mick Twomey, Tom Pratt, John Hegarty, John Brislane, and Frank O'Sullivan have competed for Cork County Teams in Ras Tailteann. The club has promoted stage finishes of the Ras in 1959 & 1962.  It has also hosted the Tour of Ireland in 1968, 1969 and 1972.

Road Races were held annually for the D.J. Forde Trophy, Philip Lewis Trophy and a Festival Race for the Joe Murphy Trophy. A race was also held for the John Lawlor Trophy.
As there was an Athletic Club attached to the Cycling Club up to 1967, the Fermoy open sports was promoted annually from 1955 to 1975. In 1961 the 2 day All-Ireland Sports were held in Fermoy. The final Sports meeting held by the Club in 1975 was an all cycling meeting. As most of the major sports meetings were now being held on tartan or asphalt tracks, cycle racing on the grass tracks was coming to an end. All the future cycling activites would be held on the roads.

The introduction of Juvenile racing into the cycling club scene in the 1980's, saw a wave of young Fermoy cyclists come to the fore and ensure that the name of the Fermoy Cycling Club would continue to stay at the forefront of Irish Cycling.

Among the prominent young cyclists at the time were Tadhg Devaney, Michael Murphy & John Murphy, who has since gone on to complete the FBD Milk Ras in 1993, the first Fermoy cyclist to do so in many years. Shortly after that, another group of young cyclists emerged including Neilus & Denis O'Brien, the first Fermoy cyclist to take part in the Junior Tour of Ireland, John Kennedy, David O'Connor, Conor Bartley, Kealan O'Connor, Peter O'Sullivan, Richard Bartley, Peter O'Brien, Earol Byrne, Jim Hennessy and in more recent times still, Michael Hennessy, Oliver Wims, Niall O'Connor, Kevin Kiely, Colin Morrisson and Fergus O'Connor.

As mentioned earlier, Denis O'Brien was the first Fermoy cyclist to compete in the Junior Tour of Ireland, in 1988, and since then the Club has sent out strong teams each year to this International 8 Day Stage Race for under 18 cyclists. The best performance was in 1990, when there was a very successful Stage-End in Fermoy and Kealan O'Connor came to the Fermoy Stage-End in 2nd place overall and best 1st Year Junior.

While he slipped back overall in the later stages it was a very successful Tour for Fermoy, with David O'Connor also taking 3rd place on the 1st Stage and 5th place on the stage into Fermoy.

1992 proved to be a particularly good year for the club, with Kealan O'Connor winning the All-Ireland Senior Category 3 Road Race Championship and Michael Hennessy winning the Under 16 Road Race Championship and competing for Ireland in the English Schools International Stage Race.

In 1993, the good performances continued, Michael Hennessy competed with the Irish Junior Team on a number of occasions, while Oliver Wims also made his mark in this grade. the club was represented successfully in the Junior Tour of Ireland by a team of Michael Hennessy, Oliver Wims, Niall O'Connor and Stephen Sheehan. John Murphy successfully completed the FBD Milk Ras, while Kealan O'Connor, Kevin Kiely, Colin Morrisson and Brendan Walsh all had their successes during the year.

1994 proved to be another very successful year for the club. No Irish Championship medals came to the club, although Michael Hennessy, 4th in the Junior All-Ireland Track Pursuit and Oliver Wims, 5th in the Junior Time-Trial, both came very close.

Three Southern Region and Seven County Championship medals did come to club members, Oliver Wims, Colin Morrisson and Niall O'Connor. Oliver Wims had an outstanding year in 1994, finishing in 1st place on no less then 12 occasions, including winning a Junior Classic League Race in Co. Down. He also finished in the prize lists in 12 other events. Michael Hennessy had five wins in 1994. Highlights of his year were a Stage win and 3rd overall in the 3 Day Tour of Donegal and competing with the Irish Junior Team in the Leixlip 3 Day. Colin Morrisson also had five wins in 1994, in the under 16 grade, and during the year he traveled to Wales, where he was 2nd overall in a 2 Day event in Cardiff.

Other Fermoy cyclists who featured prominently during the year were John Murphy, Kealan O'Connor and Kevin Kiely. There was new development for the club in 1994 when the club became involved in Mountain Bike Racing and it is hoped to develop this side of the sport in the future.

On the promotional side, the club has continued down through the years to organise top-class events locally. Highlight of the season is the Silver Pail Grand Prix, where a full programme of races is promoted, with the assistance of generous sponsorship from Silver Pail Dairy.

The winner of the senior race each year is awarded the D.J. Forde Trophy which has been competed for continuously since 1961. These events could not be promoted without the assistance of many willing volunteers as well as the local Garda, Irish Red Cross and Civil Defence. To carry out the club's busy programme of activities each year is an expensive task and the club is most grateful for the assistance it receives from the local community.
In closing, it is only right to pay tribute to a man who has been the treasurer of the Fermoy Club since its foundation in 1952 and this is Pat O'Sullivan who has given outstanding service to the club in that time.