2013 Border Rally Championship

Kiernan/Tierney are 2013 Sligo Pallets Border Champions

Posted: January 29, 2014 3:14 PM

Gary Kiernan & Niall Tierney have become the latest crew to join the illustrious list of Border Championship winners. The Cavan crew were the kingpins in class 10 all year with four wins and a 3rd place from the five rounds of the series. Sligo Pallets continued their sponsorship of the championship for a third year and this successful association continues to go from strength to strength. The close competition this year resulted in a three-way shootout for the championship at the final round in Donegal, where Kiernan/Tierney sealed the title with their class victory. It had only been four months since Gary's brother Paddy passed away so it was perhaps fitting that Gary would go on to take the overall series win.

The Sligo Pallets Border Championship was once again the leading regional rally series in the country with over 100 competitors registering for the series in 2013. The introduction of three new classes for 2013 gave even more competitors a chance of some silverware and a shot at a class or overall title. With four out of five events counting, there was little margin for error as there were limited options to make back point deficits. Defending champions, Arthur Kierans/Mac Kierans made the early running with class wins in Mayo & Monaghan. Gary Kiernan/Niall Tierney & Dermot O'Hagan/Pierce Doheny were in hot pursuit due to their exploits in classes 10 & 11F respectively. With the Kierans family retiring in Sligo, Gary Kiernan/Niall Tierney moved to the front and they clinched the championship with another class win in Donegal. Dermot O'Hagan/Pierce Doheny Jnr matched their tally of four class wins and only missed out on the overall win on a tie-break, as Kiernan/Tierney's dropped score of 3rd place was better than the non-finish of O'Hagan/Doheny in Monaghan. Arthur & Mac Kierans had to settle for 3rd overall in the series this year but are sure to be back again next year to reclaim the title.

Paddy Kiernan Tribute

The rallying community was left in shock after the passing of talented young driver Patrick Kiernan. In just two years competing, Paddy had already established himself as one of the top Mk2 Escort drivers in the country and a young talent headed for great things in this sport. In his first attempt at the Border Championship, he along with co-driver Darren O'Brien claimed the class 10 title in emphatic style. The move to class 13 and new navigator James McCarville was seamless with the pair instantly on the pace of their class rivals, culminating in a brilliant class win on Paddy's home round in Cavan. The sport has been robbed of one of its greatest talents. His exploits will live long in the memory of competitors and spectators alike. The committee of the Border Championship extends its sympathies to Paddy’s family and friends.

Class winners:

Class 1 Champions Francie McKenna/Sean Craig
Monaghan's Francie McKenna & Sean Craig wrapped up class 1 honours with four straights wins from Monaghan to Donegal in the reliable Rover MG.

Class 2 Champions Aiden Wray/Kieran McGrath
Aiden Wray & Kieran McGrath had a successful debut season in the Border Championship taking class wins in Mayo and Sligo as well as 2nd in class in Donegal.

Class 4 Champion Josh Moffett
Josh, the younger of the rallying Moffetts came out on top in class 4 after a strong run of results midseason in his Mitsubishi. Shane Maguire finished as runner-up in his Subaru. Other crews to feature prominently were Stephen Wright/Suzanne Wright, Andrew Mullen/Elaine Doherty and Pat Kirk/Peter Ward with Trevor Bustard making a welcome return to the series in Donegal after his accident in Sligo last year.

Class 7 Champions Roger Kennedy/Wendy Blackledge
A perennial Border Championship campaigner, this crew have taken many class titles over the years and they secured another this season thanks to three class wins in the early part of the year.

Class 8 Champions Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle
2010 Border Champions, Declan & Brian Boyle have moved up to a top level Subaru Impreza WRC and they demonstrated their capabilities with overall success in the National Rally Championship with three events wins in the Border Championship easily securing class 8 success in 2013. Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry were their only major rivals in class 8 during the season.

Class 9 Champions Damien O'Reilly/Damien McCabe
Cavan pair, Damien O'Reilly/Damien McCabe came out on top of class 9 after a close battle with their local rivals Justin Smyth & Gregory McQuillan. O'Reilly/McCabe took class wins in Cavan, Sligo & Donegal, with Smyth/McQuillan taking honours in Mayo & Monaghan but three straight retirements dropped them to 2nd place in class 9 this year.

Class 10 Champions John Kelly & Niall Kelly
John Kelly & Niall Kelly had to play second fiddle to Gary Kiernan/Niall Tierney for much of the year, but they still claimed class 10 victory in Monaghan and they just pipped Martin Ewing/James Ewing to the class 10 title once Kiernan/Tierney were promoted due to their overall success.

Class 11R Champions David Smyth/Mark Deery
David Smyth/Mark Deery from Monaghan came out on top of a thrilling battle for class 11R honours with their consistent scoring rate (they scored at each round) doing the business for them. Declan Hall & Chris Corr finished just 2 points behind in 2nd with Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden who took class wins in Mayo & Monaghan finishing up in 3rd.

Class 12 Champions James Cassidy/Declan Smith
James Cassidy/Declan Smith inherited class 12 honours due to Arthur & Mac Kierans’ overall result. Class victory in Cavan was their highlight as they finished 8 points clear of Martin Toner/Martin Swinburne in 2nd place. Vincent Collins was classified in 3rd position. Enda Haran/Patrick Corcoran regularly starred in this class but problems left them with just 1 class success in Sligo.

Class 13 Champions Jonathan Pringle/Martin Byrne
Yet another Cavan Motor Club crew to top their class were Jonathan Pringle/Martin Byrne who scored in all four rounds they contested to secure class 13 honours in the Championship. Monaghan's Raymond Conlon finished as 2nd driver with Terence McGee 2nd navigator. Daniel Conaghan & Gary Gallagher were 3rd driver and navigator respectively.

Class 14 Champion Francis Rafferty
Francis Rafferty took his rare Sierra Cosworth to success in class 14 thanks to top scores in Mayo & Sligo.

Class 20 Champions David Leonard/Darragh Mullen
Sligo crew, David Leonard/Darragh Mullen took class 20 honours in their Mitsubishi with a home win in Sligo being their best result with high scores in Mayo & Monaghan helping them on their way to the class 20 title

Team Champions Sligo Pallets Rally Team

The Sligo Pallets Rally Team are the 2013 Team Champions. The 3 car team of Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle, Andrew Mullen/Elaine Doherty and David Leonard/Darragh Mullen picked up maximum scores of 30 in Mayo & Monaghan with 20 point scores in Cavan & Sligo just doing enough to edge out The A Team in 2nd place and the MK2 Mayhem team in 3rd place.

Congratulations go to Gary Kiernan & Niall Tierney on their brilliant Championship win and indeed to all of the class winners on what has been another fantastic year in the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship. 2014 promises to be another compelling year of competition in Ireland’s leading regional rally championship thanks to the brilliant support of main sponsors Sligo Pallets and to the competitors who support the series and provide such magnificent entertainment.

Border Rally Championship Prizegiving 2013 - (Sat) 2 Nov 13

Posted: October 17, 2013 10:58 PM

Border Rally Championship Prizegiving 2013 - (Sat) 2 Nov 13

Championship Points after Final Round

Posted: April 30, 2013 12:23 PM

Available at:

Border Rally Championship

2013 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship set for off

Posted: March 9, 2013 3:43 PM

The launch of the 2013 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship took place on Sunday 3rd of March at the Sligo Park Hotel. Defending Champions, Arthur & Mac Kierans were present and the pair reiterated their commitment to go for the three-in-a-row in 2013. In total, over 50 people were present including Motorsport Ireland president Joe Corcoran, Championship sponsors Andrew Mullen/Elaine Doherty, representatives from each of the promoting clubs, competitors and media personnel. Proceeds from the 2012 Championship prizegiving were made to Sean and Carmel Fallon of STOP, an organisation which works with people affected by suicide.

The 2013 Championship will consist of five rounds this year, Mayo, Monaghan, Cavan, Sligo and Donegal. The unique class based structure gives crews from all classes a chance of winning the overall title. For 2013, Class 11 will be split into class 11f for front wheel drive cars and 11r for rear wheel drive cars due to the large number of entries regularly received. The onus on consisent class performances ennsures that the championship regularly goes down to the final round of the series. Competitors count their best four scores from the five rounds. 10 points are awarded to each class winner providing at least five cars started in that class.

Arthur & Mac Kierans will be chasing an unprecedented 3rd straight Border title following their championship successes in 2011 and 2012. The Monaghan pair have been the dominant force in class 12 in recent years, but could face stern competition from Sligo pair, Enda Haran/Patrick Corcoran who pipped them to class honours in Donegal. Adrian Cannon/Paddy McCrudden will be the crew to beat in class 2 and have regularly figured in the overall standings come the end of the year. Pakie Duffy/Colin Duffy have been regular front runners in class 3 and Pakie will be hoping to improve on his 3rd overall last year. Class 4 should be intense with the likes of Championship sponsors Andrew Mullen/Elaine Doherty, Shane Maguire/Martin McGarritty, Pat Kirk/Peter Ward and Trevor Bustard/Kenny Bustard battling for class honours in recent years. Liam Branley/Samantha Branley in class 6 and Roger Kennedy/Wendy Blackledge in class 7 are both regular border campaigners and front runners in their respective classes. Class 9 was a battle royale in 2012 between Barry McGill/Derek Heena and Justin Smyth/Gregory McQuillan and 2013 should be no different. Gary Kiernan/James Fulton hope to contest the series with Gary having required last year’s class 10 championship winning car from his brother Paddy. Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden will be out to defend their class 11 title in their Toyota Corolla. 2012 Class 10 Champion, Patrick Kiernan with new navigator James McCarville have made the step up to class 13 and will face stiff competition from the likes of Declan Gallagher, Columba Heena, Daniel Conaghan, Jonathan Pringle and Michael Conlon. Gary McPhillips, Camillus Bradley, Frank Kelly and Jim McKenna could well feature in the battle for class 14 honours during the year. David Leonard/Darragh Mullen will be favourites in class 15 with Michael Carbin/Evin Hughes expected to be the pacesetters in class 20.

Border Championship Statement

Posted: January 4, 2013 12:52 PM

At the Border Championship Committee meeting held on the 21st October 2012, the challenges of cross border rallying were discussed in length.

In today’s current economic climate, for a variety of reasons, Motorsport Ireland (MI) licenced competitors are less attracted to compete in Motor Sport Association (MSA) licenced events.

The committee decided to reduce the championship to five rounds for 2013 with four rounds counting: Mayo, Monaghan, Cavan, Connacht and Donegal.

The committee accepted a proposal that Newry and District Motor Club would not be a counting round of the Border Championship for 2013 and 2014. Newry and District Motor Club shall retain the option to resume as a counting round from 2015 onwards.

Championship Rounds

Posted: January 4, 2013 12:51 PM

1. Mayo Stages Rally - 10 Mar 13
2. Monaghan Stages Rally - 21 Apr 13
3. Cavan Stages Rally - 26 May 13
4. Connacht (Sligo) Stages Rally - 14 Jul 13
5. Donegal Harvest Stages Rally - 12 Oct 13

Border Rally Championship