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Some of the cars on The Mall on Saturday morning for the start of the Deja Vu event. Photo by Dermot Crean
THE helmet that Paul Nagle used during the 2021 World Rally Championship winning season was sold for a staggering €25,000 at a charity auction in Tralee on Saturday night.
The auction was part of the Déjà Vu celebration of Kerry motorsport that took place over the weekend. Cancer charity Recovery Haven is set to be the main beneficiary of the fundraising effort.
Kerry Motor Club is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and the Déjà Vu road run was the flagship event in the year-long celebration.
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Rally stars like current World Rally Championship contender Craig Breen and five-time WRC event winner Kris Meeke participated in a tour of famous West Kerry rally stages on Saturday with the cars leaving from The Mall in town on Saturday morning.
Other famous drivers in the 150-strong entry list included multiple Irish champion Austin MacHale and former European Rally Champion Patrick Snijers from Belgium.
After the road run, 300 people attended a gala dinner at the event’s headquarters, The Rose Hotel.
During the dinner, items were auctioned off. Items included paintings of famous rally drivers, motorsport trips to museums and, of course, the helmet which was signed by almost every top name associated with the World Rally Championship over the last 20 years.
Nearly €40,000 was raised during the auction with the majority of that sum going to Recovery Haven. Nagle will donate a portion of the helmet sale to his home football club, Fossa GAA too.
The helmet was sold to New York-based Irish rally driver Paul Rowley. An additional €3,500 was raised by individual donations and bucket collections along the route.
“I don’t have the words, we are humbled that we were the chosen charity for this spectacular and fun event,” Recovery Haven’s PR and Marketing manager Marisa Reidy said.
“We met so many wonderful people from the world of rally and they were so generous and kind. Huge thanks too to Kerry Motor Club and the work they did to bring this event to Tralee.” Scroll down for photos…
Marisa Reidy (Recovery Haven) Paul Nagle, Jacinta Bradley (Recovery Haven) and Alan ‘Plum’ Tyndall (Deja Vu Motorsport).
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Famous rally driver Craig Breen with Tralee Chamber President Nathan McDonnell at The Mall on Saturday morning for the start of the Deja Vu event. Photo by Dermot Crean
Some of the cars on The Mall on Saturday morning for the start of the Deja Vu event. Photo by Dermot Crean
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One of the cars on The Mall on Saturday morning for the start of the Deja Vu event. Photo by Dermot Crean
One of the cars on The Mall on Saturday morning for the start of the Deja Vu event. Photo by Dermot Crean
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Cllr Terry O’Brien and his brother Tommy at The Mall on Saturday morning for the start of the Deja Vu event. Photo by Dermot Crean
Some of the cars on The Mall on Saturday morning for the start of the Deja Vu event. Photo by Dermot Crean
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