WestRun 2005

John Folan, WestRun 2005 Director

John Folan,
WestRun 2005 Director

Once again, WestRun has come and gone. This year’s event was the most successful ever with many more people attending all the functions and an increase in the number of cars taking part – this was due in no small way to the effort and commitment of the run director, John Folan. There have been many very complimentary messages received by the club during the past week.

Friday, July 22nd:

suzannex_carolinex_john_and_tasminA large number of cars from all over Ireland, and a few from abroad, turned up at the Spanish Arch for a very successful static display. The Porsche Speedster replica, which was being raffled for charity on the Saturday night, was on display and as well as being the source of very good ticket sales, really caught the eye with it’s gleaming paintwork in the beautiful bright sunshine which brought a carnival atmosphere to the Spanish Arch. WestRun 2005 was officialy launched by the Mayor of Galway City, councilor Brian Walsh.

Later that evening, a very large crowd gathered at the Corrib Great Southern Hotel to view the cars, renew acquaintances, chat about cars and take part in the pre-rally reception which included plenty nice food and excellent music for dancing from Denis White and Perfect Strangers, as well as some caberet items from the participants. Right through the afternoon and evening, registration of cars and participants was taking place under the control and guidance of Tasmin Folan, Suzanne Wijnekus and Caroline Fahy.

Saturday, July 23rd:

cars_at_startCars at start Just after 10.00am on a dull and overcast morning almost 200 cars from all over Ireland and some from the UK began to depart the carpark of the Corrib Southern Hotel and headed off through Galway, Moycullen, Oughterard, Maam Cross, Maam Valley, Leenane, Inagh Valley, Recess and back to Oughterard where an enthusiastic and energetic local committee had organised a festive reception which included signs and bunting, supervised carparking, dining outlets and street music. Even though the weather was quite wet, this did not deter a large number of people from participating in the new-type quiz which this year consisted of a town treasure hunt. The local committee awarded prizes to the owners of cars which “just caught the eye” in Oughterard.

Winning ticket:

winning_ticketThen it was back to the Corrib Great Southern Hotel where Mass was celebrated by Fr. Martin Glynn and the prizegiving banquet took place. The Mayor of Galway City, Councillor Brian Walsh and his fiancee, Fiona Flatley were guests of honour for the evening. The guest list also included Superintendent Martin Lee and his wife as well as the club’s two honorary members, Phil Denson and Jimmy Francis and their wives, Margaret and Peggy. The highlight of the evening was the raffle for the beautiful Porsche Speedster Replica which was built by members of the club and which raised almost 27,000 euro for a number of charities. The winning tickets were drawn by Miss Fiona Flatley and handed to Sergio Magnetti, who announced the winners. The winner was Frank McDermott from Claregalway with the two runner-up prizes going to Aaron Duggan from Galway city and Pat Conacur from Oranmore. This year’s annual club awards went to Joe O’Neill and Frank Mullan for outstanding service to the club. Music for dancing was provided by Sonny Ward and his band from Roscommon and his excellent performance kept the dancers on the floor until almost 2.00am.

Sunday, July 24th:

sunday_morningThe Sunday morning session in the O’Malley bar in the Corrib Great Southern Hotel was once again a great success with over 100 people turning out for a chat, music and dancing, a light lunch and then the annual goodbyes. Music this year was provided by Dermot Morgan, Ray O’Donoghue, Denis White and a virtuoso performance from Bobby Stack from Foulksmills in County Wexford and now a regular at WestRun.

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