Club History

Omagh Motor Club was formed in 1935 and we celebrated our 75th Anniversary in 2010.

The club were awarded JLT MSA Club of the Year in 2011.

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The first club meeting took place on Friday 29th July, 1935 and the annual subscription was set at five shillings (25p). It was proposed that a Treasure Hunt be organised as these were popular in Omagh at the time, and that the proceeds be donated to the Tyrone County Hospital.

The club became Omagh Motor Club Ltd. on the 6th April, 1954 by which time the membership subscription was ten shillings (50p) per annum.

For many years Syon Fin Hillclimb was the club’s most prestigious event drawing many big name sponsors such as Tuborg Lager and John Player. The Hillclimb was held in late May or early June and ran from 1951 until the late seventies. In the seventies it was paired with Gortin Glens Hillclimb offering competitors a weekend of motorsport and socialising in the Royal Arms Hotel.

In 1972 the club combined with Dungannon Motor Club and Enniskillen Motor Club to run the highly successful Dunomen Rally.
In 1975 the club obtained a road closing order and ran a 22 stage tarmac Bushwhacker Rally, the forerunner of the 1976 Ulster Rally. The Bushwhacker moved into the forests in 1976 and is now one of the most prestigious forest rallies in Ireland. It is a round of the Northern Ireland Stage Rally Championship and the Southern Forestry Championship.

Presently the club runs two stage rallies, the Bushwhacker based in the Castlederg/ Killeter forests and the Spring Rally based in the forests around Fivemiletown. Two navigation rallies are organised, the Boneshaker which is a round of the N.I Navigation Rally Championship and the Scallon Cup which is open to Semi-Expert and Novice crews. A N.I Autotest Championship event is organised in June while the traditional Ken Irwin Christmas Autotest takes place early in the New Year. In addition to these the club runs a Hillclimb in late May and a Rally Time Trial in October.
Club meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month in McAleers Bar at Campsie and membership averages around 250 people.