There was a good attendance at the Annual General Meeting of Co. Monaghan Motor Club which was held in the Four Seasons Hotel on Friday 20th January 2017. Reports were presented by the Secretary Roisin Meenagh detailing club activities in 2016 and by Treasurer Cathal MacArtain, who presented a comprehensive report on the club’s finances.
The Chairman Paul Hughes, in a wide ranging address, thanked all who had helped and supported the club and its activities throughout 2016. It had been a special year as the club celebrated the 60th anniversary of its formation. Ronnie Hawe and Malcolm Totten received special mention for their work in organising the 60th Gala Dinner and display of memorabilia. The Chairman thanked the Hillgrove Hotel as main sponsor of the stages rally, all local sponsors, those who provided venues for events, as well as the residents and landowners along the routes of the events. He welcomed the Four Seasons Hotel on board as the main sponsor of the Monaghan Stages Rally for 2017.
It was another successful year for club members at both International and National level. The highlights were Josh Moffett winning the Billy Coleman Award as the Best Young Rally Driver of 2016 and Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden winning the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship. Other notable successes were Shane Maguire and Mac Kierans, winners of the West Coast Rally Championship, Ciaran McPhillips, winning navigator in the South East Stages Championship and winner of the 2 wheel drive category with Mickey Conlon in the National Forestry Championship. The Navigation championships were dominated by Pakie Duffy and Evin Hughes, who won the National and Border series.
The Chairman paid tribute to the work of outgoing Club Secretary Roisin Meenagh and outgoing Event Secretary Gary Hall. There was an urgent need for new volunteers to take up these and other roles within the club and he appealed to all club members to consider how each could contribute to sharing the workload.
In conclusion, the Chairman confirmed that he would not be going forward for re-election to the role and announced that he was supporting the nomination of the current Vice-Chairman Conor Maguire as Chairman for 2017. There being no other nominations, Conor Maguire was duly elected. The new chairman then thanked Paul for his long-serving contribution to the club and expressed the wish that this would continue.
The election of officers for 2017 resulted as follows:
Chairman: Conor Maguire, Vice-Chairman: TBA, Club Secretary: Paul Hughes, Event Secretary: TBA, Treasurer: Cathal MacArtain, Ast, Treasuer: Brendan Flynn, PRO: Evin Hughes, Registrar: Ronnie Hawe.
Committee: Kerry Stevenson, Thomas Treanor, Eoghan Corr, Shane Maguire, Michael Sheridan, Garry Farrelly, Ciaran Tynan, Fintan Keenan, Damien Hagan, Fintan Clerkin and James McCarville.
National Rally Championship Launch
The 2017 Triton National Rally Championship was launched at the Glen Royal Hotel in Maynooth last Saturday. The championship will again consist of eight events starting in Nenagh in February and ending in Bantry in October visiting all four provinces along the way. Our own Monaghan Stages Rally will be the third round of the series.
Defending champions Roy White & James O’Brien announced their intention to defend the title. He will be amongst four other former champions likely to contest the series. The others being Declan Boyle, Donagh Kelly, Peader Hurson & three time champion Niall Maguire. The championship gets under way with Birr Motor Club’s Nenagh based event on Sunday February 26th.
The rounds, venues and dates of the 2017 Triton Showers National Rally Championship are as follows:
1. Nenagh Stages Rally February 26
2. Midland Stages Rally March 26
3. Monaghan Stages Rally April 23
4. Circuit of Munster Rally June 4
5. Raven’s Rock Rally June 25
6. Sligo Stages Rally July 9
7. Galway Summer Rally August 27
8. Fastnet Rally, Bantry October 29
County Monaghan Motor Club 