Monaghan Motor Club celebrated its 60th Anniversary in spectacular style on Saturday night last 14th May with a Gala Ball in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan. The event was a huge success with almost 200 people in attendance. A feature of the evening was an extensive display of photo montages, newspaper articles, biographies, cups and trophies and other memorabilia spanning the six decades since the club was formed.
Having perused the material on display, the attendance of members, former members and friends of the club, some of whom had travelled from as far as Cork and Wexford, sat down to a sumptuous five course dinner. Vice-Chairman Conor Maguire invited many of the former members to share their memories and fond stories of the club and its events in those early years on the roving microphone. Martin McKenna, a former club chairman and current President of Motorsport Ireland, complimented the club on its achievement.
Club Chairman Paul Hughes concluded the speeches by thanking all for attending and especially those from the early years of the club. He outlined the current success of the club. The Monaghan Stages Rally is one of the most popular rallies in Ireland. It is the leading Navigation club, with four well-supported events each year. Monaghan competitors have been dominant at Regional and National level, both in Stages Rallying and Navigation Trials. Several club competitors have competed successfully at International level, not least the current British Rally Champions Daniel McKenna (Scotshouse) and Arthur Kierans (Aghabog). The current success story is not unlike that of the early years, when Monaghan Motor Club was regarded as a progressive club and when it had members competing on International events such as the Monte Carlo Rally.
Paul acknowledged the foresight, dedication and commitment of all the officers, committee members and club members who had contributed to the formation and development of the club during the previous 60 years. He concluded by thanking the organising committee led by Ronnie Hawe and Cora Maguire for their hard work in preparing for the event and he had a special mention for Malcolm Totten, who prepared the impressive photo montages.
The club would like to thank the members and friends who provided video footage, photographs and memorabilia which greatly helped to make the evening such a wonderful occasion.
County Monaghan Motor Club 