'Mighty men' buckle up for banger rally

Not too many people would be keen to set off on a 3,000km journey across Europe, let alone to do it in a 'banger' costing €250 or less but this is exactly what five Meath men will be attempting in May. Two teams from Meath are participating in the 'Sucata Split Banger Rally' from 27th-30th May and will be raising funds for the Cancer Research and Education Fund at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, as well as the rally organisers chosen charity, Gemini. Tony Summersby and David Halpenny from Lobinstown will be entering as the 'Mighty Men Of Meath' and their chosen vehicle is a 1998 Ford Escort. Joining them will be Patrick Halpenny, Bernard Hoey and Vincent Lynch from Rathkenny who make up 'Team Hatchet' who will take part in a 1980 Renault 4. The rally starts in Bruges in Belgium, with stops in Strasbourg, Munich and Ljubljana, before finishing at Split in Croatia. Taking in their travel from Meath, the two teams will each cover a distance of 3,000km over the five days. The idea to take part in the rally came from Tony Summersby, who is originally from New Zealand but has been living in Ireland since 2001. Tony and his wife, Elizabeth, used to work in the Middle East and they took part in a similar rally, driving from Saudi Arabia to Ireland in 1995. "I wanted to do something like that again and thought it would also be a good opportunity to raise money for charity. I was looking for an event to do and came across this rally on the internet. When I mentioned it to the lads, they were keen to do it and it went from there," said Tony. He said they are all really looking forward to the event which they regard as ideal because it is not too long and they won't have to take too much time off work. In fact, the longest part of the journey will be getting from Meath to the starting point of the rally in Bruges, which is a distance of 1,000km. The other legs of the rally are between 500kms and 600kms. The teams are working on a "tentative route" and will be covering the journey mostly on main roads but are also hoping to drive on some minor roads to take in some of the sights along the way. Although they are taking part in cars that are 12 and 20 years-old, Tony said they were "confident" that they won't have any major problems with their vehicles and can complete the lengthy journey. As part of their fundraising efforts for the charities, the teams have arranged a barbecue at Donoghue's Bar, Woodtown, on Sunday 3rd May, with traditional music from 6pm-8pm and a DJ until late. The two teams will also be at Nobber Fair Day on 16th May with their vehicles when members of the public can enter a competition to guess the exact distance they will cover on the journey. The guess that is to the nearest kilometre will win a blu ray DVD player. Sponsorship cards are also in circulation.