The death has occurred of Tommy Moran

It is with immense sadness that Wexford Motor Club learned in the early hours of Saturday morning of the passing of our Honorary President, Tommy Moran.  Tommy was a founding member of Wexford Motor Club and a driving force behind both the rally and numerous other club events for decades.  Together with his wife Joan, their efforts, along with others, put the Wexford rally on the Irish Motorsport map as one of the top events in the country.

Speaking to Tommy over the years, he would recall the early years of the rally with great fondness and pride, with those first events attracting great names such as Billy Coleman, Cathal Curley and Ger Buckley.  Tommy would recall with great clarity Billy Coleman’s first two wins in the early seventies, Ger Buckley’s domination of the event in the mid to late seventies, and similarly, he would recall the efforts of drivers such as Bertie Fisher, Austin MacHale, Richie Heeley and Frank Meagher, all winners of the event but also all competitors who Tommy knew, and knew well.  The rivalry between Stephen Murphy and Eamonn Boland was a battle that raged on the Wexford stages for the best part of twenty years, and once again Tommy could recall each of the battles in great details and would speak about them with a smile on his face as he would recall some of the antics and memories from each event.  Tommy had great pride in the fact that the event he and others helped bring to the county attracted drivers of such calibre, and we are all eternally grateful to them for the event that continues to flourish to this very day.

The members of Wexford motor club were extremely proud to have Tommy Moran as the Honorary President of our club.  He was a man who was highly respected the length and breadth of the country, and had a knowledge of the sport that was rarely matched.  Tommy was a gentleman who people loved to talk to, and he was always willing to talk about the sport in any era.  You could also be assured that you would come away from a conversation with Tommy Moran having learned a number of facts you had not been aware of previously.  Tommy was a hugely popular figure, who always drew salutes and handshakes from people in the sport, and wherever he went, he was greatly respected by everyone who knew him.

At a time when our club is starting to put plans in place for this year’s running of our rally, it is extremely sad to think that the event will proceed without Tommy for the first time ever.  In recent years, Tommy has been at the ceremonial start and dropping the flag to mark the commencement of the event, and it is very sad for everyone involved in the event and indeed everyone involved in the sport to even think that this will not be the case anymore.

To Tommy’s beloved wife Joan, his sons Thomas, Derek, Des, Barry and his daughters Tina and the late Anne Marie, we express our sincere sympathies at the passing of the great man that was your husband and father.  Motorsport in the county will never be the same, that class, that smile and that laughter that Tommy Moran brought to each and every event he attended, is gone now and will never be replaced.  May he rest in eternal peace and our thoughts and prayers are with you all.