If you were in a random field, would you be able to tell me where north, south, east and west are?” Irish Country Living asks Oisín Sherlock. “No, but if you dropped me off on a random road with a map, I’d be able to figure out where I was pretty quickly,” he answers.
And would he use Google Maps at all?
“Google Maps is very deceiving, some places might not have been updated in five years. I only use Google Maps to find wee by-places, never in competition.”
Monaghan man Oisín Sherlock is a competitor in ‘Night Navigation Trials’, a motorsport conducted under the cover of darkness. He started competing just five years ago and won third overall last year in the expert class. His aim next year is to win first prize, which he expects is doable once there isn’t any car trouble. 
Mapping a route.
“There are four classes; beginner, novice, semi-expert and expert. This is my first year in expert and I got third overall. What I’m at now is the top in Ireland; so if you want to progress you have to go to the UK. I was close this year only for mechanical trouble, the exhaust broke in the car in the first event in south Cork. These things happen.”
Oisín’s interest in motorsport began at around 11 years of age. Some of the locals asked his father Paddy for permission to use the farm lanes at home for an event, and Oisín got the chance to watch all the action.
“For the next few years I helped out and marshalled at the events. When I was 16 then, Dad and I bought a Subaru in Tydavnet for €1,000. That was at the end of the season, so over the summer I was getting the car ready for the start of the next season. October came and we filled in the form and took part.”
For the first year Paddy was driving, Oisín was navigating and they won the beginner class in the national championship. It was clear Oisín had a knack for navigating. However, having the two of them away at weekends competing during the busy months on the dairy farm at home was not going to work in the long term. Taking part in events in Monaghan and Cavan wasn’t an issue, but quite a few of the key competitions take place in Munster and that’s where Oisín had to be if he was going to get to the top of his game.
“Dad took a step back. So a neighbour, Aidan Sherry, stepped in to drive. Last year, I did 12 events with seven different drivers. It’s not about speed. You have to get to random cars parked around the countryside in the correct direction and correct time. Narrow roads and farm lands slow you way down.”
How it works
Each competing car carries two people; a driver and a navigator. At the start of the event, competitors are given a list of grid references from which they must work out the prescribed route, which can be anything from 96km to 224km in length. The crew must then travel the route adhering to a strict average speed limit of 48km/h for the entire event.
Oisin Sherlock mapping his route in the March night nav event in 2019. \ Peter Cassidy
Along the route, there are manned time controls where you must check in. Penalties can be given for various reasons such as arriving early or late at the controls, or for approaching from or departing in the wrong direction. The purpose of the exercise is to complete the entire route, maintaining the average speed and picking up as few penalties as possible.
“We have a standard Ordnance Survey map with different grid references. Each one relates to a car out in the countryside. There would be different places you can’t go, they’re out of bounds. A competition takes about three and a half to four hours.
“Every half mile you should be doing in a minute. You have to keep an eye on that. If you are too late to something you have to carry your lateness so you don’t get penalised for speeding. One minute you’re on a byway, next minute you’re on a farm road and then next you’re going through a slatted shed. In the Ballyhoura Mountain range you could do two or three hours without ever seeing a public road.”
Safety
Regular road cars are used for navigation trials. All the cars are checked by Motorsport Ireland before the event to make sure they comply with the regulations and are safe. They must have a first-aid kit, two high-vis jackets and a warning triangle.
Oisín has put a steel sump guard, tank guard and heavier suspension in his car to avoid damage on some of the rougher country lanes. But he says not every competitor will make those modifications. The cars have to pass the NCT and when they are taking part in an event they are insured by Motorsport Ireland. Outside of that, it is up to each competitor to decide whether to insure the vehicle or transport it on a trailer to competitions.
When a motorsport club organises a navigation trial they have to notify the gardaí, the county council and all the residents in the area to let them know it is happening. Oisín is a member of Monaghan Motorclub, which helps to deliver a safety talk to transition-year students each year. 
Taking part in the January 2020 nav. \ Peter Cassidy
“The fire brigade, paramedics, gardaí and ourselves all deliver a section of the safety talk. We encourage the students not to be out racing on the roads, to do it in a safe competition environment.
“I think it does help because that’s the age you want to be getting them into motorsports at. What’s the point of racing round the roads to smash things and put people in danger? We like to get the students involved in the club and make them realise that they shouldn’t be acting the eejit on public roads.”
Lockdown
During the COVID-19 restrictions, motorsport competitions, like everything else, have been paused. Oisín took part in a few virtual navigation competitions organised by different clubs. A list of grid references are released at a certain time and the first one to plot them all correctly wins. However, Oisín says it’s not quite the same as a real event.
In the car Oisín has a Poti-light magnifying glass that you put on top of your map so you can see it clearly in the dark. Other equipment you can have in the car includes a precision tripmeter, maps, romer and digital clocks.
“At an event you get your route cards at 6pm. A farm lane could be new and not appear on an ordnance survey map, but you get two grid references on route card one and can plot a farm lane from that. Then on route card two you have all the points you have to get to, but they will skip three of them and you will only receive the details of those when you get to a certain checkpoint. So at all times you have to think on your feet.”
For now the dairy farm at home is keeping Oisín busy. But he’s looking forward to the next season in October and this time he’s aiming to win it.
1 Favourite car: Subaru Impreza 2007.
2 Personal hero: Niall Maguire, rally driver from the local village.
3 Person who taught you how to drive: My father Paddy.
4 Favourite place to drive: Killarney.
5 Best driving song: California Love by Tupac.
Read more
Second Gear: the Machine Deane and the Drift Queen
Third Gear: reflecting on 20 years of rallying
If you were in a random field, would you be able to tell me where north, south, east and west are?” Irish Country Living asks Oisín Sherlock. “No, but if you dropped me off on a random road with a map, I’d be able to figure out where I was pretty quickly,” he answers.
And would he use Google Maps at all?
“Google Maps is very deceiving, some places might not have been updated in five years. I only use Google Maps to find wee by-places, never in competition.”
Monaghan man Oisín Sherlock is a competitor in ‘Night Navigation Trials’, a motorsport conducted under the cover of darkness. He started competing just five years ago and won third overall last year in the expert class. His aim next year is to win first prize, which he expects is doable once there isn’t any car trouble.
Mapping a route.
“There are four classes; beginner, novice, semi-expert and expert. This is my first year in expert and I got third overall. What I’m at now is the top in Ireland; so if you want to progress you have to go to the UK. I was close this year only for mechanical trouble, the exhaust broke in the car in the first event in south Cork. These things happen.”
Oisín’s interest in motorsport began at around 11 years of age. Some of the locals asked his father Paddy for permission to use the farm lanes at home for an event, and Oisín got the chance to watch all the action.
“For the next few years I helped out and marshalled at the events. When I was 16 then, Dad and I bought a Subaru in Tydavnet for €1,000. That was at the end of the season, so over the summer I was getting the car ready for the start of the next season. October came and we filled in the form and took part.”
For the first year Paddy was driving, Oisín was navigating and they won the beginner class in the national championship. It was clear Oisín had a knack for navigating. However, having the two of them away at weekends competing during the busy months on the dairy farm at home was not going to work in the long term. Taking part in events in Monaghan and Cavan wasn’t an issue, but quite a few of the key competitions take place in Munster and that’s where Oisín had to be if he was going to get to the top of his game.
“Dad took a step back. So a neighbour, Aidan Sherry, stepped in to drive. Last year, I did 12 events with seven different drivers. It’s not about speed. You have to get to random cars parked around the countryside in the correct direction and correct time. Narrow roads and farm lands slow you way down.”
How it works
Each competing car carries two people; a driver and a navigator. At the start of the event, competitors are given a list of grid references from which they must work out the prescribed route, which can be anything from 96km to 224km in length. The crew must then travel the route adhering to a strict average speed limit of 48km/h for the entire event.
Oisin Sherlock mapping his route in the March night nav event in 2019. \ Peter Cassidy
Along the route, there are manned time controls where you must check in. Penalties can be given for various reasons such as arriving early or late at the controls, or for approaching from or departing in the wrong direction. The purpose of the exercise is to complete the entire route, maintaining the average speed and picking up as few penalties as possible.
“We have a standard Ordnance Survey map with different grid references. Each one relates to a car out in the countryside. There would be different places you can’t go, they’re out of bounds. A competition takes about three and a half to four hours.
“Every half mile you should be doing in a minute. You have to keep an eye on that. If you are too late to something you have to carry your lateness so you don’t get penalised for speeding. One minute you’re on a byway, next minute you’re on a farm road and then next you’re going through a slatted shed. In the Ballyhoura Mountain range you could do two or three hours without ever seeing a public road.”
Safety
Regular road cars are used for navigation trials. All the cars are checked by Motorsport Ireland before the event to make sure they comply with the regulations and are safe. They must have a first-aid kit, two high-vis jackets and a warning triangle.
Oisín has put a steel sump guard, tank guard and heavier suspension in his car to avoid damage on some of the rougher country lanes. But he says not every competitor will make those modifications. The cars have to pass the NCT and when they are taking part in an event they are insured by Motorsport Ireland. Outside of that, it is up to each competitor to decide whether to insure the vehicle or transport it on a trailer to competitions.
When a motorsport club organises a navigation trial they have to notify the gardaí, the county council and all the residents in the area to let them know it is happening. Oisín is a member of Monaghan Motorclub, which helps to deliver a safety talk to transition-year students each year.
Taking part in the January 2020 nav. \ Peter Cassidy
“The fire brigade, paramedics, gardaí and ourselves all deliver a section of the safety talk. We encourage the students not to be out racing on the roads, to do it in a safe competition environment.
“I think it does help because that’s the age you want to be getting them into motorsports at. What’s the point of racing round the roads to smash things and put people in danger? We like to get the students involved in the club and make them realise that they shouldn’t be acting the eejit on public roads.”
Lockdown
During the COVID-19 restrictions, motorsport competitions, like everything else, have been paused. Oisín took part in a few virtual navigation competitions organised by different clubs. A list of grid references are released at a certain time and the first one to plot them all correctly wins. However, Oisín says it’s not quite the same as a real event.
In the car Oisín has a Poti-light magnifying glass that you put on top of your map so you can see it clearly in the dark. Other equipment you can have in the car includes a precision tripmeter, maps, romer and digital clocks.
“At an event you get your route cards at 6pm. A farm lane could be new and not appear on an ordnance survey map, but you get two grid references on route card one and can plot a farm lane from that. Then on route card two you have all the points you have to get to, but they will skip three of them and you will only receive the details of those when you get to a certain checkpoint. So at all times you have to think on your feet.”
For now the dairy farm at home is keeping Oisín busy. But he’s looking forward to the next season in October and this time he’s aiming to win it.
1 Favourite car: Subaru Impreza 2007.
2 Personal hero: Niall Maguire, rally driver from the local village.
3 Person who taught you how to drive: My father Paddy.
4 Favourite place to drive: Killarney.
5 Best driving song: California Love by Tupac.
Read more
Second Gear: the Machine Deane and the Drift Queen
Third Gear: reflecting on 20 years of rallying
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: