| Ben McKenna | |
| Nickname: | Gentle Ben |
| Birth Date: | 1939 |
| Birth Place: | Stamullen, County Meath, Ireland |
| Death Date: | (age 52) |
| Death Place: | Templemore, County Tipperary, Ireland |
| Discipline: | Road bicycle racing |
| Role: | Rider |
| Amateuryears1: | 1955–77 |
| Amateurteam1: | St. Patrick's East Meath |
| Majorwins: | Rás Tailteann, 1959 Tour of Ulster, 1960 |
Ben McKenna (1939 – 26 March 1992)[1] was an Irish cyclist. He won the Rás Tailteann in 1959.[2] [3]
McKenna was born at Cottage Hill, Stamullen in 1939; his family later moved to Julianstown.[4]
McKenna was a founding member of St. Patrick's East Meath cycling club in 1955.
He first competed in the Rás Tailteann in 1956, and won the competition in 1959.[5] He finished second in 1961 and 1964.
McKenna also won the Rás Laighean in 1958,[6] the Mick Beggan Memorial in 1959 and the Tour of Ulster in 1960.[7] He retired from cycling in 1977.
McKenna was Chief Commissaire for the 1983 Rás.[8] He also had a role in the reunification of the politically divided Irish cycling world, which culminated in the creation of Cycling Ireland in 1987.
McKenna married Grace Bosonnet and had six children; he died in 1992 aged just 52.
The Ben McKenna Memorial is an annual cycling race held in Balbriggan.[9] [10] [11]
McKenna was inducted into the Cycling Ireland Hall of Fame in 2017.[12]