By Mike Marshall

“It is a funny thing that in my 50 years of rallying and racing all over the world it is not the wins I think of but the funny things that happened before, during and after the events”.

These were the opening words of the interview which Rosemary Smith gave to Michael O’Mahoney when he was gathering material for Icons of Irish Rallying his brilliant publication of human-interest stories collected from over seventy men and women who have been part of the Irish motorsport scene from the mid-1960s to recent times.

Michael got to know Rosemary and her long-time co-driver Pauline Gullick during his years in Dublin and through his company sponsored several Pauline’ appearances on the Rentokil Initial Killarney Historic Rally as co-driver with the great Jim McRae.

While Rosemary had of course rallied on the Killarney stages years earlier in her time with various works teams on the Circuit of Ireland, it was not until 1992 that she made her one and only appearance in the Rally of the Lakes.

That entry was brought about through the efforts of Joe Foley, a larger than life character who with a number of fellow glass blowers and cutters had set up Tipperary Crystal near Carrick-on- Suir, after the world famous Waterford Crystal had closed its doors.

Joe was a rally enthusiast and thanks to him many motor clubs were able to present beautiful crystal glass trophies which would have been far beyond the club’s budget were it not for the exceptional discounts provided by Joe.

In 1992 Tipperary Crystal came on board as trophy sponsors for the Rally of the Lakes and Joe came up with the idea that to get max return for his involvement the best plan would be to enter a Tipperary Crystal sponsored car, driven by somebody who would be guaranteed to attract media attention.

Rosemary had at that stage virtually finished with competitive driving to concentrate on her Driving School and Fashion interests, but such was the persuasive power of Joe’s idea that the entry list for the 1992 Lakes records Rosemary Smith at No 38, co-driven by Joe Foley in a Class A7 Peugeot.

It is doubtful if the team carried out any recce but it was clear that Rosie’s years of experience gained in tackling rally stages all over the world has not deserted her and she came back to the finish on Sunday evening with an unscratched car and a class win after eighteen of the Classic Killarney stages.

This was the last December Lakes before the switch to May, so the latter stages on both days would have tackled in failing light or darkness, adding to the challenges of the event.

The photo shows Margaret O’Donoghue presenting their class awards to Rosemary and Joe.

Joe left Tipperary Crystal a few years later when the company changed hands.

He went to live abroad but did not enjoy a long retirement before he passed away.

Rosemary and Joe have now left us but thankfully Margaret remains very much with us as an iconic reminder of the pivotal role which the O’Donoghue family and the Gleneagle have played in the development of, not only the Rally of the Lakes and the Historic Rally, but also so many other events and initiatives which have ensured that Killarney always remains in pole position as the premier visitor destination in the country.