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After almost 100km of rallying, Josh Moffett and Keith Moriarty (Citroën C3 Rally2) took victory on the 2024 Ronnie Hawe Monaghan Stages Rally by just 11 seconds from Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly (Hyundai i20 Rally2).
From the outset, the event was billed as a showdown between the Combilift brothers, who were both looking to take a fourth victory on their home event.
A full entry of more than 160 starters left the Four Seasons Hotel on Sunday morning to tackle a compact route of three stages three times in the north Monaghan area.
Josh headed the field as 2022 winner, but it was first blood to Sam who took the opening Sheetrim test by 1.6 seconds. VW Polo crew Daniel Cronin and Donnachadh Burke were the best of the rest as they held third, 6.5 seconds off the front. On the second stage the tables were turned and it was Josh who was now ahead, leading by 1.4 seconds after taking a fastest time by three seconds. Gary Kiernan and John McCabe climbed to fourth overall in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 with a third fastest time, taking four tenths from Cronin.
After the third stage and heading to the service, Josh Moffett held a 1.7 second advantage after sneaking a few more tenths from his older brother. Cronin set another third fastest time but such was the pace of the leading two crews that the gap to the final podium place sat at 25 seconds.
Back out on the stages, and just as it was on the first pass, Sam was fastest in Sheetrim and ate into Josh’s lead, but only by 0.2 seconds. Eddie Doherty/Tom Murphy (Skoda Fabia R5) were the big movers, leapfrogging Kiernan to take fourth, only eight seconds off Cronin.
On SS5, the gap between the Moffett’s returned to 1.7 seconds, highlighting the nip and tuck battle going on. Cronin had a soft roll into a field which ended his event and promoted Doherty to third. There was a four-way race for the position however, with less than ten seconds seperating third to sixth spot.
The gap at the front reduced again going into the second service, just 1.1 seconds the difference after Sam took another stage win. Both commented that they wanted the win and neither would yield for the final loop. A spin on that stage left Kiernan frustrated as he lost 20 seconds to Doherty and the chasing pack.
After SS7, Sam was speechless as Josh took 3.6 seconds out of him and opened the gap to the largest it had been all day. Another 5.2 seconds was put between them on SS8 as Josh seemed to find an extra gear. Sam again struggled to understand, as he and co-driver O’Reilly continued to give a 100% effort. The final run through Factory Cross sealed victory number four for Josh Moffett. 11 seconds being the final gap, but as tight as it was, didn’t tell the full story of the seconds being traded at the earlier part of the day. Josh admitted that it wasn’t an easy day and that he was pushed to the very end. Sam said he’d no answer as he left it all out on the stages.
Eddie Doherty rounded off the podium, almost a minute and a half off the front, he held off a late charge by Jason Mitchell and Paddy McCrudden who were just 3.9 seconds adrift in their Polo R5. Aidan Wray and Niall Burns were a further 6.1 seconds back in a similar car. Gary Kiernan was satisfied with his pace as the day progressed but rued the earlier spin as he finished 18.4 seconds off third.

Daniel and Andrew roll back the years for modified success
12 years on from their famous overall victory, Daniel McKenna and Andrew Grennan were the modified winners of the 2024 Ronnie Hawe Monaghan Stages Rally. It was ten years since Daniel competed on his home stages and the 2012 win was the last time Andrew was on the notes for him in a Monaghan rally. In a stacked entry, no one was tipped a favourite as there were a number of potential winners.
It was Dessie Keenan and Jason McKenna who took fastest times on the first two stages. A misfire leaving Parc Ferme was worked on and the crew were mindful that the Escort wasn’t singing as well as it should despite what the clock said. Kevin Gallagher and Ger Conway were second quickest on the opening stage in their Darrian T90. With McKenna/Greenan behind them and the two identical Moffett Starlets of David Moffett/Martin Connolly and Richard Moffett/Darragh Kelly setting identical times to sit fourth and fifth after SS1. Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan were sixth, but just two seconds off the fastest time. After just 10km, it was already set to be an entertaining and competitive day.
Gallagher dropped to fourth on SS2, bumping McKenna and Richard Moffett up. David Moffett dropped nine seconds and three positions but were still within touching distance.
Before the start of SS3, Keenan’s engine continued to give trouble so a decision was made to return to take a nominal time, return to service for a fix and return for the later loops to test the car and see what could have been. This, mixed with a road penalty for McKenna meant Gallagher led from McPhillips entering first service, with Richard Moffett third and Damien Tourish/Domhnall McAlaney fourth. A terminal gearbox problem meant the Moffett Starlet wouldn’t leave service and family honours rested on David’s shoulders.
Gallagher and McPhillips dropped time on SS4 which moved Tourish to second and McKenna set a blistering time to move to the top of the category. McKenna’s was the third fastest of all competitors, just 1.2 seconds off Sam Moffett.
On SS5, David Moffett was the big mover. He set a fastest time and jumped to third, only 0.8 seconds off Tourish. McPhillips closed the gap to Gallagher to just 0.2 seconds, and at just 9.1 seconds off the lead, he was still within touching distance.
A quickest time for Tourish on SS6 gave him breathing space to Moffett and moved him closer to McKenna but didn’t change the overall positions.
On SS7 and SS8, Moffett made another charge and was within 0.1 seconds of Tourish and 7.3 seconds to McKenna. Kevin Gallagher was a further 5.3 back, with McPhillips 1.6 off him. With 12.2km of SS9 to go and intermittent showers, 14.2 seconds covered the top five.
Kevin Gallagher left it all on the road and he set a fourth fastest overall stage time to take second at the last moment. Damien Tourish was demoted to third by just 0.1 seconds. David Moffett made an all or nothing push but the bruised Starlet would settle for fourth after an altercation with a bale. McPhillips took no chances and secured fifth from Jason Black who was ready to pounce on any slip-up. But it was to be McKenna and Grennan’s day as the popular double act returned to winning ways and regained their title as the modified masters of Monaghan.

Monaghan Stages Rally: Class results

Class 1

The rapid Mini Cooper S of Kevin Flanagan and Mark Reilly was an early retirement. Their rally ended after completing just one stage.

Class 2

Gareth Deazley and Oisin Joyce were the winners of Class 2. They had a 58.3 second gap to Dylan Donoghue and Kirsty O’Callaghan. Craig Rahill and Conor Smith were a further 15.8 seconds back, having led the class for most of the event. Tommy Moffett and Domhnall Lennon finished fifth in class and set a third-fastest time on the final stage as they continue to bed into their Rally4 Fiesta. As a short-notice sub, Ryan Farrell guided Niall McKenna to sixth in the same class. Shane Gilhooly and Des Sherlock finished seventh. Jason and Daniel McConnon’s rally ended on SS2. They were fifth fastest on the opening test.

Class 2A

Sean Scanlon and Paul McGlinchey took Class 2A honours with Davy Hunt and Gillian Gilmartin second.

Class 3

Ruairi and Martin McGarrity were Class 3 winners. Navigation trial duo Pakie Duffy and Evin Hughes returned to the stages and took second in class in a Honda Civic.

Class 4

Shane Quinn and Patrick Brides took the Class 4 lead on SS5 in their Fiesta Rally 3 and didn’t look back. The Mitsubishi Evo of Tomas O’Rourke and Tomas Scallan was second, with John and Andy Hayes third.

Class 5

With the Overall top three forgoing their class awards, Jason Mitchell and Patrick McCrudden took the class from Aidan Wray/Niall Burns. Gary Kiernan/John McCabe was third. January Navigation Trial winners Molly and Shane Maguire became rivals this weekend as they competed in separate Class 5 cars. On her first stages event, Molly guided her father and multiple rally winner Niall to 12th in Class in a Citroen C3 Rally2. Shane had his brother Paul on the notes in a Fiesta R5. They finished 15th.

Class 9

Neil Somerville and Conor McGurren won the class from Jason Mooney and Gary Lockhart.

Class 10

Cathal Sheridan and Coel Leonard took class honours. Peter Farrell handed his son Shane the keys of the family Toyota Corolla and called notes as they took second on Shane’s first stages behind the wheel. Ryan Treanor and Bob Graham retired their Peugeot 205 on the penultimate stage.

Class 11F

Sam Johnston and Colin Duffy took the Class 11F win from David Healy and Martin Byrne. Gavin Russell and Daniel Callaghan were third. Jack Maguire and Keith McConnon were sixth.  Francis Rafferty and Adam Langan were 13th. Conor Hagan and Aaron Boyle were just behind in 14th. 2022 Junior winner Mark Fox, with Calum Maguire on the notes, retired on SS9.

Class 11R

Anthony Hand and David McCrudden took six stage wins on their way to 11R victory. They had 3.3 seconds to spare over Ben McIntyre and Anthony McDonald. Barry Treanor and Mickey Brennan took third, with Martin McPhillips and Damien Doherty fourth. Bernard McGinley and Patrick During were fifth in a Starlet RWD. Martin Swinburne was calling notes for David Murray in his new Toyota Starlet, but their rally ended on the eighth stage.

Class 12

Justin Smyth and Sean Mitchell took Class 12 in their green Escort MKII. Ryan McArdle and Conor Moloughney were second with Michael Conlon and James McEneaney third. Pauric Mohan and Jarlath Kelly were ninth in class. 

Class 13

Seamus Connolly and Gary McCrudden moved to a Class 13 Escort and were on the pace straight from the start as they set four fastest times and won the class by almost a minute ahead of Gary Cassidy and Damien Sheridan, also in a new Escort. Arthur Kierans and Shane Maguire were sixth on Shane’s first tarmac event. Raymond Conlon and Gavin Doherty took their Corolla to eighth. Gerard McQuaid and Gary Quinlan were tenth in class. Barry and Jonathan McKenna were 14th. Gerry McGivney and Donal Crossan finished 17th. Paddy O’Reilly and David Fizsimmons’ rally ended in a field on SS2. James McCarville and Conal McNulty retired on SS4.

Class 14

Read the Modified report for details on the top five finishers in Class 14. Michael Carbin and Dean O’Sullivan took their new Escort MKII to eighth. Johno Doogan and Paul Lennon finished tenth. Killian McArdle guided Michael Cahill to 11th. After returning under superrally, Dessie Keenan and Jason McKenna finished 17th in class, saying they were out in the afternoon to enjoy themselves and take in the stages. John McQuaid and Pierce O’Callaghan failed to make the finish.

Class 15

Brian Comiskey and Declan Campbell took Class 15 ahead of Patrick Connolly and Owen Gallagher.

Class 20

Martin Toner and Ben Teggart took the win in the unique Millington-powered Proton. Kieran Roarty and Michael O’Donnell were second.

Junior Class 16

Kyle McDaid and Shane Maguire won the Junior category on a tiebreak. They were level after nine stages with Jason Wilkinson and Ciaran McGinley but awarded the win by virtue of having a faster time on the last stage. Jordan Jervis and James McBrearty were third.

Historic

Trevor Wilson and Paul Mullholland won the Historic rally in a beautiful BMW M3. David Armstrong and Ashley Trimble were second and Malcolm Pedlow and John Henderson third. Brendan McAree and Kevin Treanor brought their Porsche 911 to fourth.

A message from the Clerk of Course

I would like to thank Frank, Annmarie and all the staff of the Four Seasons once again for the HQ and all their help and support over the past year.

All the residents and landowners along the route, sincere thanks for your cooperation, it is much appreciated.

A special thanks to all the members of CMMC that worked tirelessly to get the rally set up and over the line.

To the commanders and assistants along with their crews of men and women for their tremendous work on the stages. Fantastic work folks, it has been a pleasure,

All the marshals, timekeepers and officials for taking the day to ensure our event ran safe and sound.

To everyone in the rally office, scrutiny, parc ferme and service – thank you for all the hard work.

Monaghan town council, Monaghan County Council, and An Garda Síochána – thanks so much for your help. Sean McCaffrey and Northern Sound Radio for spreading the word on a daily basis and providing live action throughout the day!

Also for Sean McCaffery and Lee-ron Hawe for their Facebook livestreams full of useful information and fun banter. Lee-ron also behind our Facebook page, keeping it updated with something for everyone to enjoy daily.

Last but not least I would like to thank all the competitors for coming from all over the country to provide a full house entry and bring the buzz back to the country side after our one year break. Great to see so many people back on the stages enjoying our great sport.

Thanks again to all.

Thomas Treanor.

2024 Ronnie Hawe Monaghan Stages Rally COC

Conor Mohan travelled to Croatia for to take part in the Quattro River Rally Karlovac last weekend as he and his Donegal driver Eamonn Kelly practiced rallying on Croatian tarmac ahead of the next round of the Junior World Rally Championship which takes place between the 18-21 April, a JWRC round they won in 2023. Their weekend got off to a great start battling it out with the other competitors in the Junior class. At the end of special stage 1 (SS1) they were 6th overall (OA) and 3rd in class. On SS3 they set the fastest time in their class and on SS4 they moved up to 2nd in class overall. Regrettably on SS5, a reverse pass of SS2 the pair got caught out by gravel on the entrance to a corner that had been left there from cars traveling in the opposite direction previously. The gravel caused the car to spin, resulting in them clipping a bank and damaging the intercooler causing them to finish the stage in road mode as the car had no boost. They also had to complete the following Super Special Stage (SSS) in road mode before heading back to service and the overnight halt. This car trouble would cause them to drop from 6th OA and 2nd in class, to 14th OA and 7th in class. 

With the car repaired for the Sunday stages they could mount their comeback. They set a few top five stage times against the more powerful Rally2 cars and by the time the penultimate stage was finished, they had moved up to 10th OA and 5th in class.  On the final stage they managed to move up to 9th OA showing great ‘Never give up’ attitude. All in all, the rally was a success despite the disappointment of SS5 as they were able to get a feel for how the car handles and the speed, they can carry on the Crotian tarmac. Information that no doubt will be crucial for success when they return to Croatian in a few week’s time where they will hope for a repeat of previous success.

It’s just days until the 2024 Ronnie Hawe Monaghan Stages Rally.
Based out of Monaghan town, three stages in the north Monaghan
area will be run three times on Sunday. Josh Moffett and Keith
Moriarty will lead the full entry away from the Four Seasons Hotel in
their Citroën C3 Rally2. Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly are second
on the road in a Hyundai i20 Rally2. For those unable to make it to
event, Monaghan Motor Club will be providing Facebook Live
coverage with Sean McCaffrey.

Mohan Tops Border Championship

Conor Mohan has claimed the overall win in The Squealing Pig Monaghan
Border Navigation Championship after an extremely tightly fought
championship.
The five round championship began last December with Midland Motor Club’s
Ballinamuck based event. Unable to start the event, Mohan thankfully was able
to rely on the dropped score rule, meaning that only four results out of five will
count. Mohan began his championship challenge on round two, the Monaghan
Motor Club Drumlin Navigation and he got off to the best possible start as he
and his driver Gary Cassidy secured 1 st overall in the Newbliss based event.
Round 2 took competitors to Crosskeys Co. Cavan for the Cavan Motor Club
event. Mohan followed up his Drumlin win with a 2 nd place finish here. He was
however back on the winning step of the podium at the penultimate round in
Ballinode Community Hall as he and driver Michael Carbin sealed victory from
running as the first car on the road. The final round was hosted by Donegal
Motor Club and based out of Termon. A 5 th place finish here was just enough to
secure the championship, despite his closest championship rival David
McCrudden winning the event. With two wins, a 2nd and a 5th place finish,
Conor finished on a total of 55 points, just three points ahead of McCrudden.
Conor Boylan finished in 3 rd place. Martin Tynan won the driver’s
Championship, with Derek Mackarel finishing 2 nd and Shane Dalton in 3 rd .

Circuit of Ireland

Round three of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship took place last weekend
with the Circuit of Ireland Rally. The event consisted of eight stages and was
based between Dungannon and Caledon. Top Monaghan Motor Club finisher
was Josh Moffett with Andy Hayes navigating. They completed the event in 3 rd

place in their Citroën C3 Rally2. The rally got off to a strange start for the pair
as early on SS2 they would come across a herd of cattle blocking the road
causing them to stop momentarily as they waited for people to move the cattle.
Luckily it didn’t ruin their event as they got a nominal time on the stage (same
time as Callum Devine) so were not out of the running. Johno Doogan/Paul
Lennon rounded off their day in 12 th OA. Dessie Keenan/Jason McKenna
finished 12 th OA in preparation for the Ronnie Hawe Four Seasons Hotel
Monaghan Stages Rally this weekend.

The final round of the Squealing Pig Border Navigation Championship took place last weekend with the Donegal Navigation Trial.

Keith and Damien Sheridan organised an 85 mile route based out of the Termon. 

Leader of the championship navigators title going into the event and overall winner of the previous round, Conor Mohan, led crews off into the night with his driver Michael Carbin. The first Plot and Bash section began at TP4 for the route to and the location of TP5. Navigators were handed a 13 section box tulip diagram, with each of the changes in direction happening within a mile and a half. The final six direction changes were in the 246 yards preceding the final destination. A total of nine crews failed to arrive to the timepoint and many of those who did make it dropped considerable time. The midpoint control was located just outside Glen Village. The next Plot and Bash section began at TP16 where competitors were issued with a herringbone tulip with intermediate distances for the route to TP17. The tulip looked straight forward at first, but to get the correct approach, navigators had to be pinpoint accurate with their tripmeter as the final ten directions were all within 530 yards of each other.

Unfortunately Ciaran Duffy/Pauric Duffy would take a wrong bog lane leading to them getting the car stuck and leading to Ciaran having a big water bill this week as he had to wash his shoes and feet multiple times to remove the sheer amount of bog mud from himself after trying to push his car out of the mud.  Only four crews managed to arrive at TP17 on time and with the correct approach. The final Plot and Bash section began at TP25 for the location of both TP26 and TP27. A cumulative distanced herringbone tulip was the diagram given. In keeping with the tradition of navigation trials bringing crews absolutely anywhere, the correct route involved tuning down a field, heading around a house and driving under a child’s swing to arrive at TP26.  This location proved to be almost impossible to find as only seven out of 33 crews were able to find TP27

By the time it was time to return to HQ, Martin Tynan/David McCrudden were comfortable winners (if there’s such a thing) finishing on a total of nine penalties. Well ahead of 2^nd OA Shane Dalton/Sam Johnston who finished with 29 penalties having picked up 20 penalties at TP26.  In the classes, Dalton/Johnston finished 1^st Expert with Derek Mackarel/Conor Boylan 2^nd. 3^rd in class went to Charlie McMonagle/ Aidan Friel. 1^st Semi-Expert went to Niall McDaid/Ciaran Coyle, with Eoghan Corr/Ruaidhri Nash finishing 2^nd. Damien Treanor/Christopher McMahon finished the event in 3^rd Semi-Expert. 1^st in the Novice class went to Aidan McDevitt/Aidan Sweeney 2^nd was Darragh Kelly/Molly Maguire with Shane Laverty/ finishing the class in 3^rd place. Shane Farrell/Eoghan Farrell had a fantastic event, comfortably winning the Beginner class and finishing 7^th OA. Marty Gallagher/Darren Curran were 2^nd Beginner with Damien Carr/Oisín Joyce finishing 3^rd.

All was to play for in both the overall and class honours in the border championship going into the event, and dropped scores and average points for COC duties mean a clearer picture will appear when provisional final results are calculated. News on those and prize-giving details to follow.

Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin were the convincing winners of the Clonakilty Park Hotel West Cork Rally with just over a minute to spare after three tough days of rallying.

The Cork/Kerry combination took the lead early on the second day in atrocious conditions and were never seriously threatened once Callum Devine suffered a puncture on the third of Saturday’s stages.

The weather was much kinder on Sunday’s six stages and Cronin showed a masterclass in managing the lead throughout the day, never letting his concentration slip, to become the first Cork winner of the event since 2013.

At the finish he had 57.2 seconds to spare over Matt Edwards and David Moynihan in similar Fiesta Rally 2. The Ford domination completed with William Creighton & Liam Regan coming home in third place a further 29 seconds further back. Creighton, the reigning Junior World Rally Champion, took several fastest times in an impressive showing over the weekend.

Winners for the past two years Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes had to settle for fourth place on this occasion, but the Monaghan driver showed good pace today as he finally got to drive the Citroen on dry roads for a full day. Jonny Greer/Niall Burns and David Kelly/Dean O’Sullivan rounded out the top six. Kelly has been a regular competitor on navigation trial events this years, which may have helped him build confidence on Friday’s night stages.

Brendan Cumiskey and Arthur Kierans took Rally3 honours in their Fiesta and finished 13th OA.

Kevin Eves & Chris Melly were impressive modified winners once their got their noses in front on the Saturday. Their task was made easier on the first stage on Sunday at Ardfield once Jonathan Pringle & Pearse O’Callaghan went off the road. It was Damian Toner & Kevin Horgan who took second in their Escort with JF Shovelin & Terence Furey in another Escort taking third place.

Gary McPhillips and Paul Sheridan had a troubles run in West Cork. Six nominated times on the first two days dashed any hopes of a result, but a clean Sunday loop saw them always within the top four modified stage times.

In the Rally 4 category, Killian McArdle was on the notes for Joe Kelly in the Peugeot 208. Their progress took a hit when they needed Superrally rules to rejoin on the second day. They then went off for good on the final stage of the event after hitting standing water.

Donegal Navigation Trial

The final round of the Squealing Pig Border Navigation Trial Championship takes place this weekend in Donegal. COC Keith Sheridan has plotted an 85 mile route based out of Termon. With dropped scores and average points for COC duties, there is a lot to play for in both the overall and class championships.

Monaghan Stages Rally

The Four Seasons Hotel Monaghan is the place to be this Friday 22 March at 8pm.

Kick of this fantastic launch of  Ronnie Hawe Four Seasons Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally 2024.

Get a photo with some of the top cars.

Sean McCaffery will be interviewing some of the competitors live & on our Facebook live.

Not forgetting our Launch Night Competitors Competition with a chance to win some amazing prizes.

1st prize: free entry to Monaghan Stages Rally 2024.

2nd prize: voucher for pacenotes

3rd prize: voucher towards In-Car camera 

Tickets are €20 and are available from committee members.

A brilliant evening out is guaranteed and to top it all off its free admission to the launch itself.