DD Motoring: Where on earth is like the hills of Donegal?

Who would ever dream that Radio Luxembourg once sponsored the Donegal International Rally, well they did.

That’s what the event meant to the people that competed on it back in its infancy.

When the world-famous Derry born songwriter, Phil Coulter heard that the Donegal Motor Club were without a sponsor for the event in the mid 70’s.

Back then Phil was a competitor and, also a friend of Cathal Curley’s, who won the event three years on the trot. Phil was a hit with Donegal Motor Club when he convinced one of the most famous radio stations of its time to believe in and sponsor the Donegal Rally.

That was one of the best rally ever. Achim Warmbold arrived in Donegal from Germany, and to this day we still can’t pronounce his name properly but we will never forget his zebra looking green and white BMW, which never put a foot wrong all weekend in the summer of ’75.

Warnbold was world Rally Material winning in Poland and Austria outright in ’73. Now he was swapping the Alpine hills of Austria for the Hills of Donegal.

This is only one year in the nearly 50 years that the Deja Vu Donegal is hoping to celebrate

First Secretary

“Ah, Hello Brian.. it’s Phonsie McElwee here… There’s a press conference down here at the moment at the Donegal Oil Company…. Don’t know if you were notified…  but if you’re about.. sure take a wee run down… sure… Thanks, Brian.”

That was the call this week to me from a founder member and first-ever secretary of the Donegal Motor Club, Milford’s Phonsie McElwee invited as a guest to the press conference but on the phone this Tuesday morning working away in the background to steer the first Déjà vu Donegal into the County for its press conference.

Even when you’re not on the committee or the secretary it’s second nature for Phonsie and people like him down through the years to go into an automatic when a bit of promotion of the rally is needed.

So what is a Déjà vu Donegal? 

This event is a more leisurely tour retracing the great stages and stopping off at some of the great locations that instantly say Donegal Rally since it began back in the 1970s. If you have a car that was rallied back in the day or a replica car, this is the event for you.

Former winners like Cathal Curley are taking part in the weekend drive which will end with a gala dinner at Jacksons Hotel, which is the rally headquarters for the forthcoming event.

Beatty Crawford and Alan Tyndall are the men behind the Déjà Vu’s this will be their fifth event. Beatty Crawford was a former winner of the Circuit of Ireland with Adrian Boyd in an Mk1 Ford Escort.

To name just one of his many success. In Donegal, it was his brother Esler Crawford that put  Donegal on the map in print as one of the best if not the best motorsport photographers to stand on a ditch in Donegal come rally time.

Beatty, who is a doctor by profession, recalled working with his brother back in the day heading into the news editors at publications like the Belfast Telegraph and flogging his brother’s images of the first Donegal Rally then patiently waiting the following day to see if the paper used any.

On Tuesday for the Déjà Vu, nothing had changed as Beatty was working the floor with the press that turned up to cover the conference.

“Get Cullen into one there.”

James Cullen, he’s was the big local hero.

“Brian, make sure you get the Hospice sign in the background, That’s Jim Callaghan over there get a shot of him, he was the Clerk of the Course.”

There’s only one plum

Plum and Donegal Rally go together just like Castrol R is to a Mini. Neither is complete without the other.

Just listening to Plum’s voice (Alan Tyndall) talking about the forthcoming déjà vu Donegal and him mentioning the great Donegal Stages on the rally that he made household names around the rally world through us TV production RPM.

Make the date

The organisers are anticipating that around 130 crews plan to make Donegal their destination on the 30^th and 31^st of August so if you have memories of the Donegal and a motor and wanted to relive them the registration for this event in Donegal opens on the 1^st of February by going on the RPM website. Where entrants can avail of an early bird rate.

Donegal Hospice

To date, Déjà Vu and the events it has organised so far have raised over €100,000 for charities, and this year’s event hopes to continue in that fundraising path by nominating the Donegal Hospice as the local charity to benefit from the weekend’s nostalgia.

Roads used on the Donegal over the years like Glen, Atlantic Drive and even that classic of the early years like the “Round the houses” stage in Ramelton will all be included on the 120-mile tour.

At the press conference at the Donegal Oil Company offices this week three multi winners of the Donegal International who notched up 7 victories between them. Derry’s Cathal Curley.

Tyrone’s John Lyons and Donegal’s James Cullen. Memories of 911’s,  Downtown Radio RS 1800’s and pink Sierras came to mind as the winning drivers posed for pictures at a replica of the standard Porsche that CB won the second Donegal in back in ‘73

Jumper Leads

If you have memories of Donegal’s past or even of friends or loved ones that have passed from this earth, but gave joy to the tens of thousands of spectators that came to Donegal over that June weekend every year, be them seeded at number 1 number 51 or number 151, get the jump leads out, relight the spark on their behalf.

There is Avengers Sunbeams and Escorts sitting waiting forgotten that were built in sheds on long Donegal winter nights so long summers days on a weekend in June could be enjoyed.

The buzz, the craic. the friends, the competition, and the memories.

Happy Motoring Folks.