Background
Mecredy was born in Ballinasloe, County Galway, the son of a Church of Ireland clergyman.
Mecredy was born in Ballinasloe, County Galway, the son of a Church of Ireland clergyman.
He was educated at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen.
He is credited as being the inventor of Cycle polo, the rules of which he drew up in. His interest in cycling and his growing reputation as a cycle racer led to his becoming Dublin correspondent of the Tralee publisher J. G. Hodgins"s Irish Cyclist and Athlete in September 1885. Hodgins appointed him editor in November the same year.
He had his greatest success at the National Cyclists" Union meeting in London in 1890.
The Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland wanted the race to be hosted in the British Isles, and their secretary, Claude Johnson, suggested Ireland as the venue because racing was illegal on British public roads. Mecredy suggested an area in County Kildare, and letters were sent to 102 Irish MPs, 90 Irish peers, 300 newspapers, 34 chairmen of county and local councils, 34 County secretaries, 26 mayors, 41 railway companies, 460 hoteliers, 13 PPs, plus the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Patrick Foley, who pronounced himself in favour.
Local laws had to be adjusted, ergo the "Light Locomotives (Ireland) Bill" was passed on 27 March 1903, and Kildare was chosen. Mecredy gave them road maps and helped them plot their route in Ireland.
Clancy continued his circumnavigation of the globe until August 1913, during which he rode 18,000 miles in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.
They had six children: Raymond, Ralph, Eric, Myrtle, Ivy and May. He survived the sinking of the Rated Maximum Sinusoidal Lusitania in 1915.