Night of rallying nostalgia to take place at First Omagh

CRASH helmets on, and fasten your seatbelts, as a night of rallying nostalgia will be taking place tomorrow night (Friday) at First Omagh Presbyterian Church.

Organised by rally enthusiast and esteemed church member, Godfrey Crawford, the ‘Motor Sport Evening’ will begin at 7.30pm, and the event will feature high quality video highlights of some of the country’s best rally and race drivers and memorable racing moments.

Special guest on the night will be Alan Jardine, and events covered will include: Eight Bushwhacker rallies; seven Fivemiletown Spring Rallies; Lady of the Lake Rally; The Print Factory Stages; Tour of the Sperrins; Carson’s Quarry Rally; Blue Circle Stages Davagh Rally; two Ken Irwin Trophy Autotests; and the Kittle Bros Stages.

Meanwhile, drivers in the spotlight will be the late Ronnie McCartney; Hugh O’Brien; Robbie McGurk; Ken Graham; George and Norman Elliott; Kevin O’Kane; Stevie Emerson; Derek McGarrity; Kenny McKinstry; Ken Irwin; James Gillen; Sam Bowden; Norman Ferguson; Eamonn Byrne; Davy Boyce; and Mervyn Buchanan, to name but a few.

“Back in the 90s, a friend and I made quite a number of videos of rallies, autotests and a hill climb,” Godfrey explained. “At the time this was done with professional cameras and properly edited. Over the past weeks, I have been digitising all these tapes. Despite some being over 30 years old the quality has held up remarkably well.

“All of this footage is from an era which most involved in rallying will agree was the greatest,” he added. “A lot of this will be new to most, so this is certainly not a night to be missed.

“See you all there.”

‘Motor Sport Evening’ will take place at First Omagh Presbyterian Church this Friday (September 22) at 7.30pm. Admission is free, and a supper will be provided. There is no need to book; just turn up on the night. Please feel free to contact Godfrey Crawford on 07831 697430 for more details.