A great day for sport

Kells Town Council chairman Brian Collins was in a buoyant mood at the launch of the 15th annual Kells Road Races on Saturday night. 'This is a great day for sport, Man Utd were beaten, Ireland won the rugby and I have the privilege of officially launching the Kells Road Races which will take place at Crossakiel next July,' he commented. With only 10 weeks remaining in office, ahead of the local elections, Collins told the assembled mixture of officials, sponsors and enthusiasts that he was in no way surprised that the annual Kells Road Races have gone from strength-to-strength. 'It"s quite simple really, you get a phone call from Aileen Ferguson, and it won"t be a request, it will be a set of instructions about what is expected, what you have to do, and you don"t have any choice in the matter,' he quipped. Club chairman Tony Lynch briefly outlined the history of the club and added that there would be international recognition for the races in 2009 for the first time. 'There will be plenty of events taking place in and around Kells to coincide with the weekend racing at Crossakiel,' he stated. 'Apart from the fundraising Kells (Antrim) to Kells (Meath) motorcycle ride, we will have a stunt man, Mattie Griffin, at the Fairgreen on Saturday, 18th July. 'Basically, we are refusing to take part in this recession, we"re going to move forward,' he added. Meath Co Council chairperson Liz McCormack stressed the importance of the Kells Road Races to the county. 'This is a very important event on the sporting calendar in Meath, it is our opportunity to showcase Crossakiel, Kells and Meath,' she said. 'The members of the Kells club can be very proud of their achievements,' she added. Local Fianna Fail TD Johnny Brady also praised the club for the tremendous work they do in promoting the event. 'Safety is top of the agenda and that"s down to the efforts behind the scenes of the hard-working members of the club,' he stated. Fine Gael TD Damien English echoed those sentiments and praised the voluntary efforts of the club officials, but also highlighted the contribution which the competitors make. 'The people who race at Crossakiel every year make it a special occasion and I"m certainly looking forward to this year"s action,' he commented. The launch was hosted by Michael McKeon Motors, represented by Peter Gallagher, who reminded everyone of the great bargains which he could offer in both new and second-hand cars. 'I know you are all into two wheels, but Aileen promised that everyone would buy a vehicle, and she never breaks a promise,' he said. The main sponsors of the event, for the second year, are Adelaide Insurance Services who were represented by Nichola Pearce. 'This is a very successful event, it is well organised and we are glad to back here again,' she stated. Adelaide specialise in providing personal insurance for car, motorcycle, home and travel and may be contacted by email: nichola.pearce@adelaideinsurance.com