05-05-2025
Kerry rally crowd holds round of applause for missing farmer 'and rally man' Michael Gaine
A one-minute round of applause was held for missing farmer Michael Gaine at this year's closing ceremony for the Rally of The Lakes.
The applause was also held for the many people who have tried to find him since he went missing from his Kenmare home on March 20.
The disappearance of the 56-year-old was recently upgraded from a missing person investigation to a criminal investigation.
Rally-goers heard his family were 'very thankful that the rally community for having come in behind the family and to help solve this very sad and horrific crime'.
At the start of this year's event, Tommy Randles, chairperson of the Killarney and District Motor Club — whose rallies Mr Gaine attended — issued 6,500 stickers with the last known photograph of the farmer, in his distinctive orange hat.
As well as stickers put on the programmes and other literature, organisers also had the stickers put on the windscreens of more than 160 cars taking part in the Rally of the Lakes.
A video on Facebook for the rally event shows a street in Killarney packed with race fans being told of how many had tried to find him 'because he's one of our own, he's a rally man, and he gave so much to the sport behind the scenes'.
The last known photo of Michael Gaine in Centra, Kenmare, Co Kerry, at 9.48am on Thursday March 20.
People were then asked to give one minute round of applause 'for the people looking for Mick Gaine and to thank Mick Gaine for all he has done for Irish rallying'.
The crowd were also told: 'We have spoken to lots and lots of people from the Kenmare region over the last weeks and no one has a bad word to say about this man."
In an address to the crowd, a friend paid tribute to him by adding: 'He had fierce interest in people — rallying community and farming community.
'Priest or peasant, he would treat them all the same.' He also added Mr Gaine was 'a very good rally driver back in the day'.
Since the investigation was upgraded, gardaí have contacted a number of people who gave them dashcam footage in the early days of their investigation.
Officially, the last time Michael Gaine is known to have been seen alive was on the morning of March 20, when he bought phone credit, a lunch roll and a bottled drink at the Centra in Kenmare.
He was wearing a distinctive orange woolly hat, a black fleece, blue jeans, and black boots.
A short while later, he walked out into the car park, got into the nine-year-old bronze Toyota Rav4 jeep his wife Janice bought in 2015, and drove onto the Killarney Rd towards Molls Gap.
Mrs Gaine made a heart-felt appeal for any information about her husband, in a video released to the media last week.
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