The MINI Club of Ireland » Featured

Featured Member – Fergal ‘MiniMpi’ McDermott

Owen — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:49:02 +0000

To be our next Featured Member, Ferg jumped at the chance. Well, Ferg jumps for everything, so that’s not any different … but he’s still one of the best members our Club has, and a true MINI and Mini fanatic. Click the ‘Read More’ link below to see the answers Fergal gave to our list of all important questions, and of course, to see more of Ferg, and his collection of cars.

Name :

Fergal Mc Dermott.
From :

Ballincollig, Co. Cork.
Age :

44
Occupation :

Security Officer for Noonan Security,based in EMC Ovens, Cork.
Current Cars :

2007 R56 MINI Cooper S.
First Car :

1978 Fiat 128 for a month,but my first Mini was a 1968 Wolseley Hornet rally car!

Favourite thing’s about my R56 MINI Cooper S?

The colour, Laser Blue. The Latest alloys I’ve fitted, the handling, the looks, I could go on and on, I love this car.
Insurance costing?

€400 Fully Comp on R56 MINI Cooper S.
Dream Mini?

A MINI GP

Best things about being a Mini driver?

Driving a ‘Different’ car to everyone else.Having fun driving and owning a great,different,mad car to the rest of the commuter traffic.

Do you wave to other Minis?

Always,and flash the lights too,but seems to be a dying breed of people who will wave back though. Generally better response from early MINI’s and Mini’s.

Advice to others?

When i got my first Mini,didn’t have it long until i got my hands dirty and took it off the road for a rebuild to rally spec,converted the suspension from hydro to dry,swapped subframes,changed engine from 998cc to 1275cc,Cooper s brakes etc.Did some of the work myself and Ger and Aidan did the rest(Thanks Guy’s )Good to get to know your Mini like this as you really ‘know’ it and gives you confidence in it’s ability. We drove from Ballincollig to Scotland(in full Rally spec,rollcage,bucket seats etc. not very comfortable!) and back in that Mini with nothing more than a wet distributor cap one morning after typical Scottish weather!!! A simple tissue fixed that,dried the cap and off again. Wouldn’t have gone on this trip if i hadn’t ‘known’ my Mini from front to back after the rebuild.
Worst Mini moment?

Couple!,but crashing my Hornet into a wall on fist stage of West Cork rally is high up there!!! But most memorable moment would be being in McDonald’s drive thru in Douglas when smoke started billowing through the dash ,ran to the boot,spun off my quick release battery connection and pushed the Mini to the window,collected my takeaway and pushed it to the carpark to investigate! The wire for the lights which ran behind the rad,got trapped and shorted there and as there is no fuse on early Mini’s for the lights!!! shorted the whole way back to the dashboard switch! Funny looking back on it now though

Best Mini moment?

Every day I drive either of my Mini’s as they are just truly great car’s. But the best ever moment was in the West Cork Rally,Sean and myself in the Wolseley Hornet. And we rounded the last of a series of bends and there was a ’1200 Flat’ section ahead!(1200 metres of a straight!)We were doing around 110mph and both of us turned to each other and started roaring laughing at the maddness of it all

Any plans for your MINI?

A JCW Aerokit, a JCW exhaust and maybe different stripes.

Fergal McDermott and one of his many MINIs

Fergal's beautiful Mpi Mini Cooper.

'Yorkie' - Fergal's R53 MINI Cooper S

Fergal's rally car, a Mini derrived Wolseley Hornet

Featured Member – Jon Alexander

Owen — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:05:24 +0000

For our third featured member, Jon was extremely eager to tell us a bit about himself, and his very very special Innocenti Mini. Despite Jon being exiled in the outer regions of Mayo, he’s still one of the most active online members of our Club. Click the ‘Read More’ link below to see the answers Jon gave to our list of all important questions, and of course, to see more of Jon and his pride and joy.

Jon Alexander, MCOI member, and his Innocenti Mini

Name :

Jon Alexander.
From :

Mayo, the county, not the sauce!

Age :

Current Cars :

A 1975 Mini Cooper Innocenti 1300 Export.

Favourite thing’s about my classic?

Everything,it is a Mini,but finished of with a bit of Italian flair.

Insurance costing?

I think it is about 300 euro’s fully comp.

If you could buy a MINI/Mini, what would it be?

I think it would be a new Mini because i have a classic already,so i would opt for one of the new Mini Cooper “S”,with the JCW pack,and the colour would be a Cream body,and a Black roof,to match my own classic Mini colour’s.

Best things about being a Mini driver?

Well most people on the planet have heard of the mini car,it is Fun,and if you are lucky to own one ,it is a bit of motoring history you are driving around in.

Do you wave to other Minis?

Oh yes!

Advice to others?

Enjoy every minute of Owning,Driving and Fixing them,it’s Great.

Best Mini moment?

It would have to be owning Mini’s of all sort’s over the last 25 year’s and i am still counting,the enjoyment of owning a mini,getting in to my first mini when i was 17,Joining various Mini club’s like this one,Making New Friend’s,Meeting Old One’s,Going to Mini show’s,Going on Mini Run’s,Getting to meet some of the Famous name’s in the Mini’s history the list could go on and on,so that would be my Best Mini Moment,the last 25 year’s of my life and Counting.

Jon Alexander's Innocenti Mini from the front

Jon Alexander's Innocenti Mini rear end

Jon Alexander's Innocenti Mini pristine engine bay

Jon Alexander's Innocenti Mini in motion

Jon Alexander's Innocenti Mini in profile

Featured Member – Mark ‘Sparkie’ Coleman

Owen — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 20:36:00 +0000

We asked for someone to be our first ‘Featured Member’, and Sparkie, one of our most active Forum members rose to the challenge. Click the ‘Read More’ link below to see the answers Mark gave to our list of all important questions, and of course, to see more of Mark, and his superb Classic!

Name :

Mark Coleman
From :

Ballinhassig, Co. Cork
Age :

20
Occupation :

3rd year Student of Instrumentation in CIT, with plenty of part time work!
Current Car :

’91 Rover Mini Mayfair

First Car :

This one!
Favourite thing about your car?

Love the car as a whole, it’s my first, and I’ve wanted one for years. Toss up between my Radio, and the Bonnet Stripes (White Cooper Sig on Black Stripes), which you don’t see that often.
Insurance costing?

€1200 Fully Comp for the year, out on my own for the first time. I figured for the sake of an extra 20 Euro per month, it was worth going Fully Comp.
Dream Mini?

Obviously a HP would be smashing, but I think a 02-04 Grey Cooper S, mmmm!
Best things about being a Mini driver?

It’s nice that there are clubs like this one set up to cater for people with common interests. Pity on all ye Punto drivers out there, the looks you get from people when you’re driving a Mini puts a smile on my face.
Do you wave to other Minis?

Hehe, funny question, I actually do. If I spot a classic, I’ll give it a hoot and a wave!

Advice to others?

As I’m still new to the game, I can’t offer too much advice, on Minis anyway, but I suppose to someone starting out, ask plenty of questions about things, pop the bonnet at the weekend and get your hands dirty, check how things work, it’s the only way you’ll learn.
Worst Mini moment?

Haha, the radio has always been acting up on me, but this one night I was in Bishopstown with all the lads in the car. I stopped at the traffic lights to turn up the volume, but in turn this conked the car (Due to dodgy grounding I found afterwards), not to mind that, but both me, and the 3 cars behind me managed to miss the signal change of the lights. I spent the next 2 weeks trying to convince the lads that Minis are actually a great car – the radio has since been replaced!
Best Mini moment?

To be honest, I haven’t had anything spectacular happen yet. I think the best thing I’ve done with it is actually buying it. Maybe interview me in a year, I should have some good stories.
Any plans for your Mini?

I will be fitting new speakers under the back seats next week, and have plans for a centre console, where I will place the radio, 2 air vents, and a digital clock. Spot lights for the front are on the cards aswell. I’m thinking of taking it to France, or Scotland for 2 weeks sometime soon.

Mark Coleman and his Mini

Mark Coleman's Mini - an artistic shot

Mark and his Mini again

Another artistic shot of Mark's Mini