Northern Ireland motorsport official Barry O'Neill has again been honoured for the second time, for his continuous work behind the scenes and on the ground as a voluntary motorsport official. The MSA UK nominated him for an Official FIA Award with each worldwide governing body nominating their top official. This the first time that the FIA has ever presented such an Award and it is now believed that this will become an annual award. Barry collected his FIA Outstanding Official of the Year award at the prestigious Night of Champions ceremony on Friday 20 January at the RAC Club in London. FIA Deputy President for Sport, Graham Stoker, presented O’Neill with his award in front of a 150-strong audience of distinguished guests, including all of the 2011 British motor sport champions. O'Neill commented " Its was a fantastic achievement. I can’t believe that I was nominated and that someone from N.I can stand out from the rest of the world. It’s a great for motorsport in N.I and this award it evident of the talent N.I has." In 2010 O'Neill was awarded the 'JLT MSA Marshal of the Year Award' after being nominated by ANICC. This was based on his professional approach to motorsport, training, marshalling which was evident in performing the role of Chief Marshal for the Ulster Rally in 2009 & 2010. O'Neill is also one of the leading lights behind MMP after starting his involvement in 2006 as an advisor after been trained as an MSA Instructor trainer. In 2011 I progressed to Leader Instructor Trainer and trained 4 new instructor trainers to assist me to expand training opportunities. This progressed into redeveloping the MMP quarterly newsletter in 2008 from a two page newsletter to a more professional four page newsletter and in 2012 an annual 'evergreen' 15-20 page newsletter. This newsletter provide facts and information detailing events, a tool for clubs to promote their events and to keep volunteers informed of important training events etc.In 2011 he became Vice-Chair in preparation for Chair's position in 2012. The good news continues as Omagh Motor Club has this year been named the 2011" JLT MSA Club of the Year" by the MSA. The Awards Panel selected Omagh MC as the winner following its nomination by the Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs. The award is designed to recognise excellence among the MSA’s registered clubs, which number almost 750. Those that enter are judged in areas such as marketing and promotion, initiatives to attract and retain volunteer officials and young members, and projects that improve road safety or benefit local communities. Omagh Motor Club has approximately 250 members and ran Autotests, Navigational and Stage Rallies and a Hill Climb in 2011, its 75th Anniversary year. The club has gained strong promotional coverage in its local and regional press and has engaged well with councillors and the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is also a founder member of the highly successful Motorsport Marshalling Partnership in Northern Ireland and attended this year’s Omagh Motor Show in a bid to recruit new marshals. The club organised a championship Autotest event in support of this year’s National Motorsport Week and has a range of development programmes and initiatives to train and mentor younger event officials. It also engaged successfully with a cross section of local charities last year and was ranked ‘Club of the Year’ at the Ulster Herald’s Sports Personality Awards. Omagh MC’s Gary Milligan said: "We are delighted to receive this award. We strive to run competitor-friendly events and to encourage young people into the sport. The award is a reflection of the hard work put in by all our volunteers and is particularly welcome as we have just celebrated our 75th anniversary." A representative of Omagh MC was presented with £1000 and a JLT Rose Bowl Trophy at the MSA Night of Champions ceremony at the Royal Automobile Club in London on 20 January 2012.
couldnt say a bad word about the man we had him for a class in tec last year and helped him out at a few events, well deserved