Saturday night last saw Monaghan Motor Club run their annual drumlin night navigation trial. Highly regarded as one of the main events in the night navigation calendar this event lived up to its billing as the 120mile route attracted a bumper entry of 48 starters. Based in the ideal surroundings of the Sliabh Beagh Hotel in Knockatallon, Clerk of Course Fintan Clerkin, ably assisted by Martin Tynan and their team laid on what can only be described as a mammoth event through the lanes and by-roads of North Monaghan. It was the semi-expert class who led the field home with David McCrudden and driver Kevin McCormack taking their maiden navigation victory after many recent good results. Another semi-expert crew of Mark Deery and Cork’s Patrick O’Leary cruised home to 2nd over-all ahead of expert class winners Josh Moffett and Stephen Thornton who made a return to the maps after a few years sabbatical.
With a almost three hours of plotting behind them, forty eight crews departed HQ at 9.01pm to face into the North Monaghan drumlins with the first ten time points around the Sliabh Beagh mountain area and then heading north east towards Emyvale for a much needed breather at petrol halt. No time to rest on your laurels as the second half of the route circled the Balinode and Tydavnet areas before weaving its way back towards the sliabh beagh mountain region for the last few time points and then back to HQ around 2am where many’s a lane was recalled and a case of if’s, but’s and maybe’s for most crews!!
Semi-expert crew Paddy and Oisin Sherlock, along with Ashley McAdoo and Laurence Keenan were the early pace setters as they were the only crews to keep clean sheets up as far as time point 17 which incidentally caught all but five crews out for a wrong approach. The middle section of the event was relatively straight forward navigation routes with Michael and Ciaran Tynan moving to the front through the middle third. Ultimately CoC Fintan Clerkin had saved the best for last and with six plot and bash section’s through the last ten time points it was always going to throw the cat among the pigeons so to speak. It was the semi experts of McCrudden/McCormack and Deery/McCarthy who faired best through the latter stages, getting all time point’s correct and only loosing minutes where others were failing to visit all controls and dropping back down the leader board. David McCrudden and Kevin McCormack emerged as convincing winners, 11 minutes clear of Mark Deery and Patrick O’Leary to claim a well deserved and memorable victory on this prestigious event in their Subaru impreza.
Josh Moffett and Stephen Thornton showed no signs of rustiness after a lengthy break from the navigation scene to take a five minute expert class win ahead of Arthur Kierans and club chairman Conor Maguire. Midlands men Colin Duffy and Sam Johnston were third expert crew and 5th overall on the night and took valuable points towards their assault on the national navigation campaign. Deery and McCarthy got the semi-expert class win ahead of local father and son team Paddy and Oisin Sherlock. Had Paddy and Oisin not decided to check the strength of a few steel posts in their own farmyard there night could have been even better! CoC’s on the October navi, Shane and Peter Farrell managed 3rd semi on the night. Caolan and Ryan Treanor had an excellent run to take a massive novice class win ahead of midlands men Shane Dalton and Seamus McTigue. Indeed had the Treanors not got off to a very bad start they could have finished as high as 4th overall on home ground. Hugh McBrien and Patrick Corcoran left the journey back to Cork that little bit more bearable by taking third place honours in novice. On what was an extremely tough event for a beginner it was local men Darragh Kelly and Ciaran Duffy who put their local knowledge to good use and lifted the beginner class honours, narrowly edging out Kieran McCarra and Kate Lynch by only 5 penalties. Nigel and Ryan Brennan took 3rd in class, gaining some valuable experience along the way.
That’s the drumlin done and dusted for another year and once again it lived up to its reputation all due to the exploits of CoC Fintan Clerkin/Martin Tynan and there hard working backroom team. Well done to all involved and Fintan would like to thank all marshals, residents and landowners along the route, Sliabh Beagh Hotel, results teams and anyone else who helped out in any way, big or small to make this event the success it was.
2017 Drumlin Navigation Top 10 Results
1/ Kevin McCormack & David McCrudden (27 pens)
2/ Mark Deery & Patrick O’Leary (38 pens)
3/ Josh Moffett & Stephen Thornton (53 pens)
4/ Arthur Kierans & Conor Maguire (58pens)
5/ Colin Duffy & Sam Johnston (59 pens)
6/ Derek Mackarel & Muireann Hayes (63 pens)
7/ Michael Tynan & Ciaran Tynan (69 pens)
8/ Ashley McAdoo & Laurence Keenan (73 pens)
9/ Mac Kierans & Conor Boylan (74 pens)
10/ Mickey Conlan & Damien Connolly (80 pens)
County Monaghan Motor Club 