New book 'The Dunlop Dynasty' charts the successes and devastating losses of the road racing family

The 18-year-old’s achievement would have been worthy of celebration in any circumstance but Michael’s victory came less than 48 hours after his father, Robert, had lost his life in a crash during practice for the same 250cc race.

Setting their grief aside, Michael and his older brother, William, decided to compete in their father’s honour despite a ban from race officials who were concerned for them following the tragedy. Shrugging off the sanction, the Dunlop brothers brought their race bikes to the start line.

The story of Northern Ireland’s motorcycle road racing legends, the extraordinary Dunlop family, is now told in a new book ‘The Dunlop Dynasty’ by leading road racing photojournalist Stephen Davison.

‘The Dunlop Dynasty’ depicts the thrilling and spectacular careers of these self-made sporting giants, with a particular emphasis on the new generation. From Joey’s brilliant performances to Michael’s historic triumphs, this book captures the triumph and tragedy of the Dunlop family’s incredible achievements on the roads of Ireland and the Isle of Man in over 250 stunning images, many previously unpublished.

Drawn to road racing during the early Seventies, Stephen Davison has always remained on the safe side of the hedge. Accompanying his uncles to his first races, Davison looked on as Joey Dunlop began to establish his credentials as a road racer. What began as a hobby eventually became the day job for Davison when he started to work as a press photographer in 1989.

"Documenting the exploits of the Dunlop road racers has always been at the heart of my work as a photographer. The desire to capture something of Joey Dunlop’s road racing exploits was the reason I picked up a camera in the first place over 30 years ago,” Stephen said.

"One thing led to another and press photography became the day job. On weekends off I tried to get to the races to see Joey and Robert in action. The Dunlops produced so much to photograph. It has always been about trying to capture the people and the places where they raced.

"A sport full of risk, road racing can also be a very beautiful danger. The bikes being prepared in the paddock fields, the quiet moments before the flag drops to start the action, spectacular dices between the hedges and the celebrations that follow victory. Often, though, the best pictures come in the quiet moments after the champagne has been spilled.

"The Dunlops have been the sport’s most successful dynasty but that success has come at a huge price as Joey, Robert and William have all lost their lives in race crashes. Even during the happiest days, there is a sense of lingering pain."

The opening five sections of ‘The Dunlop Dynasty’s 240 pages, are devoted to Joey and Robert with the other 180 pages taking up the story of the road racing careers of William, Michael, Gary and Sam Dunlop plus Paul Robinson. Many of these images are being published for the first time. The hard back book, priced at £24.99, is available now from Waterstones Ballymena, Waterstones Coleraine, Waterstones L’Derry, Little Acorns L’Derry and Amazon.

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