County Monaghan Motor Club

 

Monaghan Motor Club members were again well represented at the annual National Rally Championship awards ceremony. Triton Showers were in their first season as sponsors on what was a successful year for the championship. Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry were once again at the sharp end of the series, finishing in a fine 2^nd place overall. Niall is a past three time winner and has multiple runner-up and 3^rd place finishes over the years. His son, Shane competes in the Group N category and finished 3^rd in class after an up and down season. Michael Carbin & Emmet McCooey took class 20 honours completing a Border and National championship double. Seamus Connolly & Gary McCrudden were class 11R champions. Jim McKenna placed third in class 14.

 

Cork Star-Trek Navigation Trial

 

A number of Monaghan crews made the trip to Shanballymore, North Cork for round two of the National Night Navigation Championship. Sean Daly organised an 80 mile route including some classic forestry lanes used on the Cork Forestry Rally. Best Monaghan crew on the night were Ciaran Sheridan & Conor Boylan who were a terrific 5^th overall and 1^st in the Novice class. Keith McConnan & Micheal McCluskey were 6^th overall and 1^st in the Semi-Expert class continuing their fine start to the year. Aaron Duffy/Laurence Keenan came home 8^th overall. Defending champions, Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes were a disappointing 12^th overall after an issue at TP7. Aiden Sherry & Oisin Sherlock came home 13^th overall and 4^th in the Novice class. Colm Mohan & Conor Mohan were unfortunate to retire after getting stuck aiding another competitor.

 

Billy Coleman Award

 

The club wishes the best of luck to Josh Moffett who has been named as one of the finalists for the 2015 Billy Coleman Award. The prize which is worth €50,000 to the winner is awarded to the best young rally driver in Ireland. Josh who was also a finalist last year, had another exceptional year. He won the Irish Forestry Championship outright, took 3^rd overall placing on the Circuit of Ireland, a round of the European Championship and claimed overall victory on this year’s Monaghan stages rally. Josh will now join Rob Duggan & Patrick O’Brien on the final shortlist. The winner will be announced at the Champions of Irish Motorsport awards on December 2^nd.

 

Dinner Dance & Prizegiving

 

The annual Monaghan Motor Club Dinner Dance & Prizegiving takes place on Friday night, December 4^th. The event will see the club celebrate the success of their competitors at both National & International level in 2015. Some of the most notable successes includes Josh Moffett & Jason McKenna winning the Irish Forestry Championship, Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry taking runners-up in the National Championship, Shane Maguire winning the West Coast Championship and Evin Hughes winning the National Night Navigation Championship. Damien Connolly is the overall club champion for 2015, clinching the coveted Trader’s trophy for a third successive year, while Mickey and Ciaran Tynan are the club navigation champions. Tickets are available from committee members.