Bertie Donnelly competed in the men’s sprint (1000m) and the 1000m time trial at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games – Ireland’s first Olympic cycling competitor.

A member of the Harp Cycling Club, Donnelly had made his mark competing against the leading English riders and was selected alongside John Woodcock for Amsterdam after the NACAI’s cycling trial.

In the sprint, he lost to the eventual champion Roger Beaufrand of France in his opening heat before being eliminated at the repechage stage in what was described as a ‘really meritorious’ performance despite the unfamiliar tactics of continental sprint cycling.

In the 1000m time trial, a mechanical problem – his front wheel loosening and rubbing against the fork for the greater part of the race – hampered his performance and he finished 11th overall, 5.6 seconds behind winner Willy Falck Hansen of Denmark.