'He gave it his all': Donegal Motor Club 'driving force' Jim Callaghan laid to rest

Donegal Motor Club founder and stalwart Jim Callaghan was laid to rest on Monday.

Mr Callaghan, late of Ballyraine in Letterkenny, was 79 when he died last Friday.

A former competitor, he also acted as Clerk of the Course for the Donegal International Rally from 1978-79 and 1984-85.

A model of a Ford Escort Mk2, his driving gloves and a Billy Coleman plaque were all carried to the front of the Cathedral to commemorate his lifetime of service.

“He was very much a stalwart and a driving force in the club,” Fr Ciaran Harkin, the parish priest of Aughaninshin, told mourners at St Eunan’s Cathedral. “When he tried to take a black seat, he was still a mentor and an advisor. He had a genuine passion for motor sport and the opportunities that it gave.

“The Donegal Motor Club’s success was down to the belief of people like Jim in following the rule book. Bending the rules was not an option for Jim. That led only to issues and problems”.

Fr Harkin, who was joined by Diocesan Administrator Monsignor Kevin Gillespie, told how Mr Callaghan “took great pride” in how the Donegal International Rally grew from humble beginnings to become a multi-million euro event.

Donegal Motor Club members formed a guard of honour at Conwal Cemetery, where a Ford Escort Mk2 - sporting the same livery as in 2006 when Jim Callaghan and his son Gerard competed in the Donegal International Rally - had joined the cortege.

A Ford Escort Mk2 in tribute to Jim Callaghan. (North West Newspix)

A schoolteacher by profession, Mr Callaghan was the principal teacher at Drumucklagh National School. In 1980, when Drumucklagh closed to amalgamate with Trentamucklagh at St Baithin’s NS in St Johnston, Mr Callaghan moved to spend around 15 years teaching in St Johnston. 

A St Baithin’s NS jumper was among the items carried to the altar.

“He loved his teaching and formed great relationships with pupils,” Fr Harkin said. “The drive over the hill road to St Johnston helped; it made him come alive.” 

The only child of Joe and Nelly Callaghan at Port Road, Letterkenny, he was born in May 1945. Fr Harkin recalled how he was a “complete townie, through and through”.

After leaving national school, he moved to stay with the McBride family in Gweedore and he got a Gaeltacht scholarship before moving to boarding school at Coláiste Íosagáin in Ballyvourney, Cork.

Thereafter, he attended St Pat’s teacher training college to learn his craft.

He was also an adoring father and grandfather. 

“He took great delight in his children and grandchildren,” Fr Harkin said, noting that he was blessed to have been married to his beloved Kay for 53 years.

Mr Callaghan was also involved in the Letterkenny pantomime and the Credit Union, while he was a reader in the Cathedral for many years and recited the Rosary on a daily basis.

“When he agreed to be a part of something, he gave his all to it,” Fr Harkin said.

A man of great faith, remembered Fr Harkin, with a crucifix included in the items marking his life, Mr Callaghan “lived a life of integrity and a life of truthfulness and total commitment to his family, his pupils and his passion of motor racing.” 

He was part of the group that came together in January, 1970, at the Milford Inn Hotel to set up the Donegal Motor Club. He served a period as the Chairman of the Motor Club.

“It was way beyond expectations actually,” he recalled in an interview some years ago.  

“The event went from strength to strength really. It took a while to build it up. The enthusiasm was beyond belief at the time. The foundation of the motor club I put down to the collective mad thoughts of the Milford people. The membership was drawn from all over the county.”

He set up a class in the 1970s, operated out of the Ballyraine Hotel (now the Mount Errigal Hotel), to teach navigating skills for budding co-drivers.

“Jim was the man who gave us a grounding in navigating events and map reading,” multiple Donegal International Rally winning navigator Rory Kennedy told Donegal Live.

The remains of Jim Callaghan are taken to his place of rest. (North West Newspix)

“I was only a teenager when I went to that class and Jim was showing us how to plot a map and understand a rally. Those people were pioneers back in the day and were the architects of the Donegal Rally.

“I had a great affinity with Jim and a great admiration for what he did.”

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Jim Callaghan is survived by his wife Kay, son Gerard (Jacquie), daughter Cliona (Ali), grandchildren Jamie, Rory, Aaron, Emma, Aidan and Andrew, neighbours, relatives and friends.