William Joseph “Joey” Dunlop, O.B.E., M.B.E. (February 25th 1952 – July 2nd 2000), was a world champion motorcycle racer from Ballymoney in Northern Ireland, best known for road racing. Best known throughout the sport as “Joey” or “Yer Maun”, his achievements include three hat-tricks at the Isle of Man TT races (1985, 1988 and 2000), where he won a record of 26 races in total. During Joey’s career he won the Ulster Grand Prix 24 times and the North West 200 13 times. In 1986 Joey won a fifth consecutive TT Formula One world title. In 2005 he was voted the fifth greatest motorcycling icon ever by Motorcycle News.
In May 2001 Ballymoney Borough Council officially opened the Joey Dunlop Memorial Garden where visitors have time to reflect on the unprecedented achievements of this much loved international motorcycling legend.
