We are a Motorcycle Club located on the Isle of Man and we have four goals:
1 - To enjoy all aspects of motorbiking in the company of like minded people
2 - To attend and organise social functions as a group
3 - To help other members in any way possible
4 - To have a bloody good time
The Name
The name "Moddey Dhoo" comes from Manx gaelic and translates as "Black Dog". The dog in question hails from a local legend about a black dog which haunted Peel Castle in the late 17th Century. At this time the castle was garrisoned by soldiers and close to the main entrance of the castle was a guard room which was connected via a passageway to the Captain of the Guard’s room. The soldiers on guard duty would lock the gates in the evening and take it in turns to return the keys to the Captain each day. Legend has it that a huge black dog would appear from the passageway enter the guardroom and lie in front of the fire. The guards did not know anything about it nor did they know who owned it, and were always wary of it when it was in the room. When the time came to return the keys to the Captain the soldiers would go in pairs down the passageway. One night, however, one of the guards had been drinking, bravado took the better of him and he mocked his companion’s cowardice. The drunken guard volunteered to take the keys to the Captain on his own and dared the dog to follow him. The black dog left the room soon after the guard and after a moment terrifying screams could be heard from the corridor. The guard returned to the room, his face contorted and pale. He never spoke another word and died within three days. The Moddey Dhoo has not been seen since and the passage was sealed up and never used again.
As a footnote, the remains of Simon, the Bishop of Sodor and Man from 1226 to his death in 1247, were unearthed in 1871 in the chancel of St German’s Cathedral - his skeleton was wrapped in embalming clothes and lying along side of him was the skeleton of a dog.
A new chairman and a little history
2008 saw Andy Scullard step down as chairman after a year long term that brought much to the club. In his stead Dave Andrea the not
so Nordic god has once again taken the reigns after a solid eight years of rest.
2007 saw Ian Bell step down as chairman and Andy Scullard step up to take his place and thus begin a new chapter in the history of the Moddey Dhoo MCC.
To quote Andy when asked to add to this page:
Moddey Dhoo MCC, Formed on the 13th July 1993 by a group of friends to be a truly Manx Club, with its own rules and customs. Back-patches to be worn by both men and women, membership is only attained by a 100% vote of all full members. The main rule of the club is to enjoy bikes and party hard. The group of friends were; Stewart Leyton, Dave Andrea, Mo Simpson, Roger Hobbs, Tom Cane and Steve Fitzgerald, and their partners Angie, Marie, Linda, Julie-Anne, Mary and Helen.
Dave Andrea was the Isle of Man rep for the Harley Riders of GB and had wanted to start a Harley section on the Island – but there were so few that it never got started. Stewart had the same kind of idea for a club for Custom Bikes – but had encountered the same problem, so it was decided between the group to start a Manx Club, based on friendship and a love of bikes, rallies and parties.
Stewart drew up the clubs very basic rules and with a name for the club in mind, made a rough design for the back-patch. The legend of the Moddey Dhoo appealed to the group – but the problem was how did you spell it – and even worse how did you pronounce it. Help was sought from locals and a teacher. Roger, who knew an artist who drank in Bushy’s Bar, solved the problem of the finished artwork for the back-patch. Stewart is still undecided if the artist ever sobered up – or they drank to his level – but finally the design for the patch was drawn and sent to Jatz Patches for the first one to be made. The patch is still the one we use today and the original one is still on Stewart’s cut-off.
The only two official positions in the club were that of "Bookworm", whose duties were to keep records and front the meetings, and "Treasurer", who took care of the club funds. After the first 12 patches were made, two small tapestries were made by Jatz Patches, which were given to the club, one with the legend of the Moddey Dhoo and the other, which gave an outline of the club and its basic rules. For many years these could be seen at Murray’s Museum on the mountain – but since its closure, have been on display at the Queens in Laxey along with rest of the clubs regalia. Over the last fourteen years the club has grown and now has over 60 members and now has 7 officials, a Chairman, 4 Committee Members, a Treasurer and a Webmaster - but the aims of the club remain the same.
The travelling membership of the club upholds the club's reputation at parties and rallies - where I'm sure you've seen them at the bar or trying to stagger towards it! 2008 will be another milestone for the club with the 15th Anniversary to celebrate - so watch this space for details of the party.
The Beginning
July 1993 will go down in Manx biking history as the month that the Moddey Dhoo rolled out onto the road for the first time.The club way back then, was just a group of friends from Manx MAG who liked bikes and drink - which it still fundamentally is. Sunday runs didn't happen very often, as we met in pubs, not at the grandstand with even more time being spent in Roger and Julie-Annes' bar than out riding.
The first meeting was at the now closed Wagon and Horses pub near Crosby.
Stu Leyton was the man in charge for the first few years and when he moved off the island big Bob Western took over for several months before Dave Andrea stepped forward to take over as Chairman. With his experience of clubs he turned a group of friends into a proper bike club. With Dave in charge the club became more organised and membership began to increase and became the club that we have become today.
Dave decided to step down in July 2000 to let someone else take over and that man was Ian Bell.
For those of you who do not know Ian this is his most natural state so far as we can figure as we have never seen him in any other.
The club has continued to grow in numbers (now over 70). With Dave Comyns as Vice-Chairman and Ali Comyns as Treasurer the club is now established in the UK as a good party club.
The lowest point for the club was in April 2001 when we lost Paul Flint. He collapsed at the Creg Malin at a Rock n' Roll do that he had organised. Paul was a fan of Rock n' Roll, Harley's and old cars, he has been greatly missed.
Over the years the club has attended many Rally's in the UK and Eire. There have been some brilliant times over the past 10 years and hopefully many more to come.
If you are interested in joining then contact us or turn up on one of the Sunday runs.
The Website
This is the sixth incarnation of the website - believe it or not. It was started in 2002 by Steps as part of a college project, it first went live at some point back then but due to the quantity of beer consumed in the intervening years the exact date is lost. Since those early days the site has (one would hope) gone from strength to strength and continues to be updated, renovated etc by Steps to this very day.
The Poem
Hopefully an ongoing addition to the site, The Poem written by Ali is an interesting mix of history and nicknames and is worth a read.
