MONEA rally star Brian Hoy has said the support he received from the Fermanagh public was a ‘massive comfort’ during his three-month recovery from a serious accident last year.
Hoy, the 2022 Junior World Rally Championship Co-Driver of the Year, sustained serious injuries following a crash at the Cavan Stages Rally while partnering local driver Garry Jennings.
Speaking openly for the first time on The Back Page Podcast, brought to you by the Belmore Court & Motel, the Fermanagh man reflected on the ordeal and the long road to recovery.
“At the time it was a struggle and there was plenty of concern,” Hoy said.
“But that’s part and parcel of rallying and we always knew the dangers of getting into a car. You just never think it will be you.
“I was in hospital for three months. It was slow, but when I got out of hospital the recovery was good. Everything I was asked to do, I did.”
The local businessman is a hugely popular member of both the community and the wider motorsport fraternity and many rallied around him and his family following the accident.
“The first two boys on the scene were Cathan McCourt and Barry McNulty. When I came round and opened my eyes, they were there. It was a massive comfort to have those boys there,” Hoy said.
“I didn’t have a phone for nearly two months. Unless the nurse came and told me something, I had no contact. The people who supported me when I was doing well were also there to support me then.”
Hoy was always destined for a career in motorsport. He was named after the late Brian McGrath, a local rally star and close friend of his father Peter, who was killed in a road accident in November 1991.
“Brian McGrath was a very good clubman driver. His name is still about and it’s nice that we’re carrying his name on,” Hoy said.
Early career
Hoy’s love of rallying began at a young age. At just eight or nine years old, he had his first experience in a rally car when he sat alongside Paul McShea.
“We weren’t even going that fast but with the noise, I was trembling with excitement when I got home. I was hooked — football was no good after that,” he said.
Hoy later made his co-driver debut with Darren McGrath at Lough Navar before partnering a number of local drivers, including Neil Harron and Peter Jennings.
His big break came when he teamed up with Derry driver Callum Devine. The pair enjoyed significant success in events such as Donegal and Cork before expanding their ambitions onto the European stage.
“Callum was on the best machinery and we got on well,” Hoy said.
“I had a lot less on my plate then — the business wasn’t going as well as it is now, I had no girlfriend or family, and if I wanted to go rallying, I just went.
“I’d work from Monday to Thursday and then I’d be rallying for the rest of the time. That was where I wanted to be.”
Partnering Armstrong
Through his friend Willie Mavitty, Hoy later got the opportunity to join Kesh driver Jon Armstrong for a full round of the European Rally Championship.
The duo impressed on the continental stage, winning in Sweden and finishing second in Greece and third in Estonia before ending the season as runners-up overall.
With the highest points total as navigator, Hoy was named the 2022 Junior World Rally Championship Co-Driver of the Year.
“It was nice to get recognition for everything I had worked towards for the previous 10 years,” Hoy said.
“In Greece I knew all weekend that was the case. We came to the end of a stage in the middle of the wilderness and Craig Breen and Paul Nagle were waiting there to congratulate me.”
After finishing second in that rally, partnering Armstrong remains one of the highlights of Hoy’s career.
“Jon was something else — the talent and organisation were unreal. He was a brilliant driver,” he said.
“I would only read the notes once to him. With other drivers I might have to say them three times, but with Jon if he didn’t hear them he would ask me to repeat them.
“We’d be flying into a corner and I’d be wondering if he heard me. It was like a computer game — he had his own way of working.”
As he continues his recovery from last year’s accident, Hoy hopes to remain involved in motorsport while giving back to those who supported him throughout his career.
“I won’t run away from rallying. I have plans to do some gravel notes and recce support with some of the boys,” he said.
“Myself and Aoife have been married over a year now and we had Tess, who just turned one a few weeks ago.
“One of the hardest things about the accident was not being able to see her for two months.
“Rallying is part of my life and you can’t stop those things. But there are bigger things in my life now than rallying — and Tess Hoy is one of them.”
