Author: monaghanmotorclub

Michael Conlon and Adam Langan were crowned the 2025 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship winners last weekend in the Sligo Park Hotel.

The Co. Monaghan Motor Club pairing competed on all five rounds of this season’s championship and amazingly, they secured maximum scores on all five events onboard their Class 12 Ford Escort MKII.

The 2025 championship win, is Michael’s second border championship victory, as he previously took the championship win in 2017.

For being the winning driver of Class 12, Michael was also presented with the Brian McGrath Memorial Trophy. 2025 was Adam’s first full season competing in stage rallies as he had only competed in five events beforehand.

This year has turned out to be an epic one for Adam in the stage rally circuit as he has been crowned the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship champion navigator and he has finished 1st in class on every stage rally event that he has competed in, including the 2025 Loughgall Stages Rally.

There were a few other Co. Monaghan Motor Club success stories in the 2025 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship.

In Class 13, James McCarville finished 3^rd driver with Arthur Kierans finishing 2^nd navigator.

In Class 11F, Jack Maguire finished 3^rd driver. In Class 10, Peter Farrell finished 3^rd driver

while his son Eoghán finished 2^nd navigator.

In Class 5, Josh Moffett finished 2^nd driver.

The National Navigation Championship continues this weekend with the Co. Monaghan Motor Club Drumlin Navigation Trial. 

Clerk of the Course Ryan Treanor assisted by Shane Dalton have organised a 120-mile event based out of the Slíabh Beagh Hotel in Knockatallon. Sign on is from 17:45 with the first competing crew beginning at 21:01. As ever, marshals are required for the successful running of this event, so if you’re available to marshal, please contact Ryan or any Co. Monaghan Motor Club member.

There were four motor club members competing in a Rallysport Association event in Mondello Park last weekend.

Dessie Keenan, Gary McPhilips and Niall Maguire were all competing in Ford Escorts, while Niall’s daughter Molly was competing in a Peugeot 206.

Gary McPhillips finished 36^th overall and 2^nd in Class 9, while Dessie Keenan finished 41^st overall and 3^rd in Class 9.

Niall Maguire finished 63^rd overall and 4^th in Class 7. Molly Maguire finished 85^th overall and 12^th in Class 5.

Oisín Sherlock

The annual Co. Monaghan Motor Club awards night took place in the Four Seasons Hotel Monaghan Town on Sunday last, with a large crowd in attendance.

Chairperson of Co. Monaghan Motor Club Conor Maguire spoke at length regarding the success that motor club members had in the last 12 months.

Among the achievements were: Conor Mohan competing in the 2025 Junior World Rally Championship alongside Eamonn Kelly. Winning Rally Finland, they were in contention to win the championship outright going into the final round.

Killian McArdle, sitting alongside Joe Kelly, was 2nd in the Junior BRC after a final round showdown. Killian also competed in European Rally Championship events and a round of the World Rally Championship.

Ryan Treanor won the 2024/25 National Navigation Championship for the second time.

Evin Hughes and Pakie Duffy won the 2024/25 Squealing Pig Monaghan Border Navigation Championship.

Michael Conlon and Adam Langan won the 2025 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship.

Josh Moffett won multiple rounds of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship.

Both Stephen Wright and Sam Moffett competed in the SEAT Supercup Ireland racing series.

Bobby Connolly was competing in the Tullyallen Kart Club Championship 2025. Bobby finished 3rd  overall in the Cadet Iame championship after the eight rounds.

In the Gary Nesbitt Club Navigation Championship, Conor Mohan and Michael Carbin were overall winners.

1st in the Beginner class went to Darren Lavery and Aaron McGorman.

2^nd in the class went to Elijah and Abraham Dixon,

with Dermot Mallon and Michael Conlon taking 3^rd. 

1st Novice went to Ben Mohan and Damien Hagan.

2^nd in class went to Adam Jordan and Aaron Dixon,

with Eoghán and Peter Farrell taking 3^rd.

Adam Langan and Martin Swinburne finished 1st Semi-Expert.

2^nd in class went to Gretchen Swinburne

and Shane Maguire, with Molly Maguire and Cathal McGlone taking 3^rd. 

Evin Hughes and Pakie Duffy finished 1st Expert.

2^nd went to Gregory Shinnors and Andrew Mackarel,

with Aaron McElroy and Declan Tynan taking 3^rd. 

Molly Maguire was presented the 2025 Monaghan Motor Club Ladies award for being the top placed lady in the 2024/25 overall club Traders championship.

Conor Mohan and Michael Carbin were presented with the Drumlin Navigation Premier Award for being the highest club finishers on the event.

Aaron McElroy and Declan Tynan won the George Cannon award for the highest placed Monaghan-resident crew.

The Gerry McNamara award for contributions to the club and sport as a whole was presented to Patsy McIntyre.

At the end of the night it was the big one, the club Traders Trophy. This highly sought after cup went to Michael Carbin. Michael gave a speech thanking all his friends and navigators for their support all year and to Damien Treanor for prepping all the cars before each event and supplying a car for him to use in the Autotest event.

The Squealing Pig Monaghan Border Navigation Championship 2025/26

got underway on Saturday night last with the Donegal Motor Club Navigation Trial. Seeded car two on the night, 

Conor Boylan and Derek Mackarel finished 1st overall.

Ryan Farrell navigating for Paddy O’Donnell finished 2nd in the Expert class

with Evin Hughes/Pakie Duffy finishing 3rd.

Conor Mohan and Michael Carbin finished 7th overall.

Ben Mohan/Damien Hagan finished 2nd in the Novice Class.

Ciaran Maguire/Mickey McNelis finished 11th overall.

Adam Jordan/Aaron Dixon finished 3rd in the Novice Class.

Darren Lavery/Aaron McGorman finished 19th overall. Elijah and Abraham Dixon finished 3rd in the Beginner class.

Isaiah Dixon/Jack Cassidy finished 24th overall.

Killian McArdle and Joe Kelly went to the Cambrian Rally in contention for the Junior British Rally Championship title. There bid came to an end after losing the lead on SS5 when they caught a slower car and were unable to make the time back up. They would finish the championship 2nd.

The final round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship took place with the Skibbereen and District Car Club, Fastnet Stages Rally. Paul McPhillips, navigating for Cian Caldwell, finished 91^st overall after finishing the event under Super Rally rules. Damien Connolly sas ó the notes for Oran England but the pait retired on SS1 following mechanical issues.

Down in Australia Shane Farrell navigating for Eamonn McNabb finished 1^st overall in the 2025 DCL Contracting Experts Cup. Eamonn and Shane were competing onboard a Ford Fiesta Rally2 took a 36.5s win over Dylan King/Lee Tierney who were competing in a Toyota Yaris AP4.

Oisín Sherlock & Aaron McElroy

The Co. Monaghan Motor Club AGM took place in the Four Seasons Hotel Monaghan Town last Friday. At the meeting the 2025 committee was re-elected for the 2026 year.

The National Navigation Championship got underway last weekend with the Cork Motor Club Startrek Navigation Trial.

Clerk of the Course Ken Carmody assisted by James Fitzgerald organised an 85-mile event based out of the Donoughmore Community Hall.

There were two Co. Monaghan Motor Club crews involved. In fact, it was Co. Monaghan Motor Club who began the event as the 2023/24 national champions Gregory Shinnors with Andrew Mackarel were seeded first on the road, while last season’s Squealing Pig Monaghan Border Navigation champions Evin Hughes and Pakie Duffy were seeded second on the road.

 After the 85 miles and when results were totted up it was the Co. Cork pairing of Aaron O’Regan/Patrick Murphy who took a two mark (penalty) win over Evin and Pakie who finished in 2^nd place.

 Gregory and Andrew finished in 5^th place.

The event was tricky from the get-go as there were 40 checkpoints to reach in the 85 miles and there was torrential rain and blanket fog throughout. In the first part of the event around Donoughmore and Stuake there were a plethora of farm lanes including seven checkpoints within a squared kilometre (one OSI map box), one of which was on a supplementary route instruction located in the same farm complex. From here it was into the Boggeragh mountains for a taste of the forestry gravel tracks.

 Round 5 of the SEAT Supercup Ireland Championship took place in Mondello Park last weekend. In the thirteen-lap race, Stephen Wright emerged victorious with Sam Moffett finishing in 3^rd place.

The Squealing Pig Monaghan Border Navigation Championship commences this weekend in Co. Donegal.

Ciaran Coyle assisted by Shane Laverty have laid out an 85-mile event based out of the Lurgybrack Open Farm beside Letterkenny.

Conor Mohan was navigating for Eamonn Kelly in the Central European Rally last weekend. The event was the final round of the 2025 Junior World Rally Championship. Unfortunately for Eamonn and Conor, they would retire from the event within sight of the finish line on special stage 1. 

The Co. Monaghan Motor Club annual awards night will take place in The Four Seasons Hotel this Sunday at 8pm.

 Tickets can be purchased from Committee members or through the Co. Monaghan Motor Club App. Michael Carbin is the winner if the 2024/25 overall club (Traders) championship. Michael finished the six round championship on a total of 97.2 points, 11.2 points better off than Andrew Mackarel who finished in 2nd place.

3rd place went to Aaron McElroy.

In the Gary Nesbitt Club Navigation Championship, the outright winners were Conor Mohan and Michael Carbin.

2^nd place went to Evin Hughes/Pakie Duffy and 3rd place went to Aaron McElroy/Declan Tynan.

In the Beginner class, it was Darren Lavery/Aaron McGorman 1st, Elijah Dixon/Abraham Dixon 2nd and Dermot Mallon/Michael Conlon 3rd.

 In the Novice class it was Ben Mohan/Damien Hagan 1st, Adam Jordan/Aaron Dixon 2nd and Eoghán Farrell/Peter Farrell 3rd.

In the Semi-Expert class, it was Adam Langan/Martin Swinburne 1st, Gretchen Swinburne/Shane Maguire 2nd and Molly Maguire/Cathal McGlone 3rd.

In the Expert class, it was Evin Hughes/Packie Duffy 1st, Gregory Shinnors/Andrew Mackarel 2nd, and Aaron McElroy 3rd

Oisín Sherlock

The Premier Car Parts Dogleap Rally took place last weekend. The Maiden City Motor Club event was based in three separate forests between Claudy and Coleraine, ‘Loughermore Forest East’, ‘Loughermore Forest West’ and the ‘Cam Forest’.

On the six special stage event, Jack Casey and Ciara Duggan took their Volkswagen Up home in 41^st overall and 3^rd in Class 9.

In the Isle of Man, Kaine Treanor navigated Andrew Purcell to 2^nd overall onboard their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.

Over in Austria, Conor Mohan was navigating for Eamonn Kelly on the Herbst Rallye 2025. The pair were using this event as a test session in preparation for the Junior World Rally Championship event, ‘Central European Rally’ (CER) which takes place on similar asphalt roads this weekend.

The Herbst rally also attracted two main drivers from the World Rally Championship as both Sébastian Ogier (Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT) and Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT) used this event to perfect their car set up for the CER.

On this eight special stage event, Eamonn and Conor brought their Ford Fiesta Rally3 home in 4^th place overall and 1^st in the RC3 class. Kelly/Mohan held 4^th place and 1^st in class from the end of SS1 the entire way to the finish. During the eight stages, they only failed to win a stage (in class) on three occasions, (SS3, SS5 and SS7) and took an 8.0s RC3 win over fellow JWRC competitors Ali Türkkan and Oytun Albayrak.

The County Monaghan Motor Club AGM will take place this Friday the 17th of October at 8pm in the Four Seasons Hotel Monaghan Town. Important items for discussion are the Ronnie Hawe Stages Rally 2026, Compulsory Competitor Marshalling, Rule Changes and member questions and discussion.

The Co. Monaghan Motor Club Annual awards night will take place in The Four Seasons Hotel on Sunday the 26th of October at 8pm. Tickets can be purchased from Committee members or through the Co. Monaghan Motor Club App. Michael Carbin is the winner if the 2024/25 overall club (Traders) championship. Michael finished the six round championship on a total of 07.2 points, 11.2 points better off than Andrew Mackarel who finished in 2^nd place. 3^rd place went to Aaron McElroy. In the Gary Nesbitt Club Navigation Championship, the outright winners were Conor Mohan and Michael Carbin. 2^nd place went to Evin Hughes/Pakie Duffy and 3^rd place went to Aaron McElroy/Declan Tynan. In the Beginner class, it was Darren Lavery/Aaron McGorman 1^st, Elijah Dixon/Abraham Dixon 2^nd and Dermot Mallon/Michael Conlon 3^rd. In the Novice class it was Ben Mohan/Damien Hagan 1^st, Adam Jordan/Aaron Dixon 2^nd and Eoghán Farrell/Peter Farrell 3^rd. In the Semi-Expert class, it was Adam Langan/Martin Swinburne 1^st, Gretchen Swinburne/Shane Maguire 2^nd and Molly Maguire/Cathal McGlone 3^rd. In the Expert class, it was Gregory Shinnors/Andrew Mackarel 1^st, Conor Boylan/Derek Mackarel 2^nd and Christopher McMahon/Martin Tynan 3^rd.

Oisín Sherlock

Birr & District Motor Club hosted the final round of the 2025 Skoda Parts Ireland National Endurance Championship last weekend.

The Birr Endurance Trial took place around the village of Camross in Co. Laois.

On the event, Evin Hughes navigating for Karl O’Donoghue finished in 8th overall after the eighteen selective event. They had been in 1st place after Selective 12, but dropped back to 10th on Selective 13. They remained in 10th until Selective 17, where they took 9th place. On the final selective of the event, they took their 8th place.

Andrew Mackarel and Richard Cassidy took their Opel Ascona home in 27th overall and 1st in Class E.

On Sunday night the ALMC Motor Club announced the cancelation of their rescheduled Winter Endurance Trial. The Winter Endurance Trial was originally postponed due to Storm Éowyn last January and had been rescheduled for October 11th.

The Navigation Trial season begins this weekend. Monaghan Motor Club host the first event.

Oisín Sherlock and Darragh Kelly have organised an eighty-mile event, based out of the Scotstown GAA Complex. The first competing crew will begin at 9pm on Saturday night and finish around 1am Sunday morning. As ever marshals are required for the smooth running of the event. Any available people are asked to contact Oisín and Darragh or any motor club member.
Oisín Sherlock.