RtG The Daily Dispatch - Shamrock 2024 - day 1 - Flipbook - Page 7
12 to 15 May 2025
Day 3
Kenmare - Inchydoney Island loop (156 miles)
Jack Brien and Olivia Holroyd, 1939 MG TB Supercharged
The weather gods blessed us with another full
day of sun and blue skies and, after yesterday’s
amazing route, the mood in camp was good.
various Timing Points, demanding the navigators utmost
concentration. After this long and demanding section the
following pair of Tests at the Cork Autograss Track and
the Clonakilty Showground came as something of a relief.
The first came within 5 miles of the Regularity and
comprised two laps of a dry and extremely dusty oval
circuit. The second, in Clonakilty, was a very different
proposition, with many changes of direction, some very
narrow tracks and, this time, a strict instruction to “stay
off the grass”. Sadly, Jeff Urbina and Chris Pike’s MG broke
its rear suspension on lap one of the Autograss track. With
Charlie Neale and Russ Smith’s help, they rigged a solution
that enabled the car to limp to the night halt and await any
help offered by a local MG enthusiast.
For the rest, the Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa
provided a well-deserved lunch by the sea with some fine
dining and stunning views over the beach and estuary.
Tempting as it was to settle here for the afternoon watching
the tide wash over the sands, duty called. A Route Check in
Dirk Bay set the Rally on a course to the next Test around
Hayes Caravan Park. Tantalising glimpses of the pristine
coastline of the Wild Atlantic Way accompanied us along
the route towards a Regularity at Unionhall.
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
As Kenmare Bay shimmered below there was some tinkering
and fettling going on before breakfast in the well-tended
garden of the Sheen Falls Lodge. David Gomes’ MG had retired
with a broken differential, so he was lending a hand to Declan
Costello whose own MG had been misbehaving.
With the day’s instructions handed out, the Rally sallied
forth through the Kerry countryside back to the Top
of Coom. There was no time for coffee and cakes in the
Creedons Pub today as we dipped into Cork to begin a
Regularity through the Gaeltacht Mhúscraí and over the
broken roads of the Derrynasaggart Mountains and beside
the River Douglas. Some of the usual tulip instructions had
been purposefully omitted from the Road Book meaning, at
selected junctions, the crews had to revert to their Gaelic
phrase books to decide when and where to turn.
Tea and scones, and a menu printed in English, were
available at the next Time Control in The Auld Triangle
in Macroom before a plot and bash Regularity around
Poulanargid. This featured some tricky gravel loops and
14 May 2025
Michael Cotter and Simon Echlin, 1938 BMW 328
www.rallytheglobe.com
