Breda Maguire, the Lisnaskea widow of a County Fermanagh man Daire Maguire, who was killed while competing in the Sligo Stages rally in July of last year, will be taking part in a special charity event in his memory.

“It is something I feel I have to do in his memory and this event means so much to me and the family.

“Obviously I will never stop thinking about him, and he just loved motorsport,” Mrs. Maguire told The Impartial Reporter.

The event will be at the end of the April in Sligo and is also in memory of Gene McDonald (35) from Cootehill County Cavan, who was the driver of the vehicle.

Father-of-two Mr. Maguire (46) from Lisnaskea, and Gene McDonald both died when the Ford Escort they were in went out of control and crashed during the Sligo Stages Rally.

Mr. McDonald (35), who was from Cootehill in Co. Cavan, was behind the wheel of the vehicle when the accident happened.

Both men died at the scene following the incident in Carrowcushly, Ballymote on Sunday, July 16 last year.

The highly-popular Mr. Maguire was the co-driver in the Ford Escort drive by Mr. McDonald, who was from Cootehill in County Cavan.

Mrs. Maguire added: “RPM, which stands for ‘Revs Per Minute’, which Daire loved, they do a vintage run all around Ireland, and they do it for various charities.

“This year they are doing it in honour of Daire and Gene, and it will include a Gala Dinner in the Sligo Park Hotel.

“I met with Plum Tyndall and Alan Graham of RPM and it is in conjunction with the Connacht Motor Club.

“RPM would have been on the television every Thursday night, and Daire would have watched it religiously, as it covered all the local rallies.

“But this event in Sligo is not a rally, and the roads will be closed, and it is around the roads of Sligo and Leitrim.

“It will be from April 26-28, and I am really looking forward to it,” added Mrs. Maguire.

“Daire’s normal driver that Daire usually sat with was Damian O’Reilly, and he led the funeral in the Blue Cadco car at the time.

“He wanted to put in an entry for this vintage rally, and he asked if I wanted to sit with him, so I said I would.”

The genial Mr. Maguire had persuaded her to become a rally fan years ago. “Daire was very persuasive, and I went to the rallies with him, and I used to watch the Grand Prix races on a Sunday.

“I would not have been good sitting in a rally car, mind you! But my mother was saying, ‘What – you are not sitting in a rally car?’, but I explained that it was not going fast, it was not a rally, and you did not even wear a helmet, and it is literally just a run.

“It is a 200-mile run and we stop at Donagh Kelly’s Rally Museum, and for food, and back to Sligo for 4pm.”

As a special gesture to Mrs. Maguire, she and Mr. O’Reilly will be starting in car number one, and around 140 different vintage cars will be entering.

“Damian said to me that if I changed my mind it was fine, but I said, ‘No, I would love to do that for Daire’, and he would have been proud of the fact that I was going to sit in the car.

“In the May before he died, Daire was doing the Cavan Rally with Damian, and his employers, Cadco, had sponsored the car, and Daire was all delighted.

“Damian’s partner was due to have a baby in Sligo, otherwise Daire would have been sitting with him in the Sligo Rally.

“Daire was friends with both Damian and Gene McKenna, and he had planned to sit with Damian in the future and that is why felt it was fitting that I do this.”

When asked what this upcoming event meant to Mrs. Maguire, she said: “Obviously I will never stop thinking about him, and he just loved motorsport.

“For me, I feel he deserves this tribute because the rally world moves on, and for me I feel that it is a chance for him to get recognition that he deserved, and he was involved [with motorsport] for 20 years and he just loved it.

“Sadly, he did not think it was going to end the way it did, but he had such a passion for it and it means a lot to think that he is being honoured in such a fashion.”

Mrs. Maguire continued: “Daire was a very bubbly person, very positive, and even in the house with the children, he was such a good father, and he had such a great way with him, and he was so easygoing.

“He got me to work in Cadco and we worked together, and I was only two weeks in the job before the accident happened.

“I remember my first day in the job, and Daire took a picture of me in my uniform.”

After his death, Mrs. Maguire struggled, but she decided to go back to work in Cadco. “I wanted to give it a go because he was so proud of me.

“I came back to work for them in September, when my children went back to school.

“After the summer holidays, I found it hard being at home, so I wanted to give it a go, so I came back and it is Monday to Friday.

“I am glad to be back, and I know how much Daire loved the work here, so it means a lot to me.

“They have a picture of the rally car in the reception area, and it shows how well thought of [Mr. Maguire was] and I just feel it is the right place to be.”

Mrs. Maguire concluded: “I am looking forward to the event in Sligo but it is bittersweet.

“It is hard, and it has been a hard eight months, but I feel that because Daire loved the rallying so much, I feel he deserves it, as he always looked forward to reading about rallying in the paper."