"These youngsters change all these traditions": a perspective on "Outlaw" motorcycle clubs in Ireland

The 1947 Hollister, California, Fourth of July motorcycle races and hill-climb proved to be the first major gathering of a new breed of motorcyclists ... Legend ... maintains that it was one particular gang, the Booze Fighters, who initiated the trouble. In this they seem to qualify as the first organised motorcycle outlaws. It wouldn't be until three years later, in the small California town of Fontana ... that the Hell's Angels would be founded (Farren 1985, 39).

Hell's Angels is the archetypal Outlaw club, with an international network, new chapters being granted a charter before being able to run. At present there is no chapter of the Hell's Angels in Ireland, but there are other Outlaw clubs established on a similar model. American Outlaw clubs are the subject of a study which illustrates many parallels between clubs there and those running in the British Isles (Hopper and Moore 1983).

There are several synonyms by which Outlaw structures are known. Generically they are also referred to as "backpatch" or simply "patch" clubs, and as "MC" organisations. Names of individual clubs are jealously guarded, and one organisation with members in England but not in Ireland calls itself simply the Outlaws, so to use the term "Outlaw" generically can sometimes lead to misunderstandings among members of different clubs. "Patch" and "backpatch" refer to the devices worn by members, which will be described in detail below, while "MC" refers to Motorcycle Club, a type of shorthand defining these clubs as opposed to MCC organisations. "MCC" or Motor Cycle Clubs in Northern Ireland, as in other parts of the United Kingdom, are usually associated in some way with the British Motorcycle Federation. Members will often wear patches or badges identifying their affiliation, but these are usually small pieces of fabric worn on the sleeve [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED]. Motorcycle events are often advertised with a rider that MCs may attend by prior arrangement only.

MCs may be characterised by nonconformity, although individual members of such clubs may readily concede that a degree of nonconformity or individualism is a characteristic shared much more widely within the motorcycle world. The paradox between the sense of individualism and the urge to join and to belong to a club is also perceived and acknowledged by some club members. There is a strong perception among many motorcyclists in Northern Ireland that the issue of religious segregation is irrelevant, transcended by a shared and profound passion for the motorcycle and all that it represents. Members of Outlaw clubs have a strong sense of "brotherhood." This sense is also shared by members of some other clubs, for example the National Chopper Club (a chopper is a customised motorcycle). One member of this organisation remarked, "... the NCC is as much into brotherhood as an Outlaw club" (Mutch 1992, 56). In some cases, MC members may live co-operatively, as in a commune. In this broad context the NCC is itself an interesting club. A club member explained, "We tread a very thin line between Outlaw and straight biker. We can't be categorised" (ibid.).(2) This point is also reflected in the style of identificatory patch or badge worn by club members which, while not composed according to the formula worn by Outlaws, is displayed on the back of the jacket [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 2 OMITTED].

Irish MCs, while they may have counterparts known by the same names in other countries, are highly localised and very territorially orientated. It is very ill-advised for an MC to attempt to set up on the known turf of a rival organisation, although several MCCs may exist in the same region as an Outlaw club. Members of any new MC may be given the option of joining an existing club, but they will be thoroughly discouraged from establishing themselves as an individual organisation. Irish dubs include, among others, the Devil's Disciples and the Family, both of whom operate in Dublin, the Freewheelers of Waterford, and the Executioners of Tyrone, Fermanagh and Armagh. Exceptions to the territorial rule, the Vikings form a nomadic club thought to emanate from Wexford. Members of all these clubs are bound by strict codes of conduct which may be defined in writing. Knowledge of these codes is strictly restricted to club members, which helps to promote and protect the associated mystique. These regulations relate to several aspects of biking life, including loyalty, the behaviour of members to one another and to non club members, and the choice and style of motorcycle. Until recently, only British and American models were acceptable, at least to some clubs, but Japanese models are no longer excluded. The engine capacity is also important; anything under 500cc is likely to be considered inappropriate. Perhaps most important of all, motorcycles must be "chopped" or customised [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 3 OMITTED].(3) Straightforward factory produced machines are not likely to be accepted by MCs. Rules may also stipulate the maximum number of days during which a motorcycle may be kept off the road. The Chosen Few, the MC which originated in Belfast in the 1970s and which now runs in Antrim and Down, expect that members' bikes will not be in an unroadworthy condition for a period exceeding thirty days, although in practice many members keep their motorcycles off the road during winter. Members are likely to pool skills, which may be for example electrical, mechanical or artistic. However, members are not necessarily expected to do all the work of decorating and / or maintaining their motorcycles themselves, and often seek professional help with these matters.