Donegal International Rally

The Donegal International Rally is an annual car race in County Donegal, Ireland. It is one of the most important events in the Irish rallying calendar since 1972,^[1] and is one of the country's most challenging rallies.^[2] Organized by the Donegal Motor Club, the annual event begins and ends in Letterkenny.^[3]

The Rally has been one of the rounds of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship for a number of years.

The winner of the first event was Cahal Curley. When the event began in 1972, it was based in Downings but afterwards it moved to Letterkenny.

At the 1985 event there was just a one-second difference between the top two finishing cars.

The event, along with most events that year, was cancelled due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.^[4]

This was significant blow to the local economy. The event is estimated to be worth over €20 million to the Donegal economy each year. The rally attracts approximately 120,000 spectators each year.

At the 2002 event two marshals were killed. The two 22-year-old men, one from Moville, the other from Crossmaglen, died when a car crashed into spectators at around 2.00 pm. Three men were also injured. The remaining stages of the event were cancelled after the serious accident on Stage Two.^[5] Andrew Nesbitt was announced as winner as he led the rally at the time of the accident.

This led to the Motorsport Commission to inspect safety at future events.^[6]

At the 2008 event, an 18-year-old spectator died after being hit by a competing car at 3.30 pm. The accident happened at Ballyare, about four miles from Letterkenny. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.^[7][8][9] The road was closed and did not re-open for some time. Organisers cancelled the rally for the rest of the day and later announced that the event would be abandoned as a mark of respect^[10][11] Eugene Donnelly was announced as winner as he led the rally at the time of the accident.

On Saturday afternoon, 19 June, a co-driver died after the car he was in crashed on the Knockalla stage, south of Portsalon, shortly after 3 pm. Thomas Maguire, aged 26, from Longwood, County Meath was killed and his driver, Shane Buckley, critically injured. As a result, the final stage of the rally was cancelled. This was the first time in the rally's history that a competitor was killed during the rally.^[12]

The Rally continued to be a counting round of the FIA Celtic Rally Trophy since 2016.^[13] The event attracted a lot of international attention, including Ken Block who showcased his Ford Escort Cosworth. Ken crashed out at SS2 on the first day, but was back the second day under rally 2 rule.^[14]

Due to high traffic and spectator volumes, SS7 on the first day had to be cancelled as a safety measure.^[15] On the third day of the rally, 23 June at approximately 12:30 pm, three-time and defending champion Manus Kelly crashed during a stage on the Fanad Head loop. His Hyundai i20 R5 went through a hedge into a field and was extensively damaged. Gardaí (police) confirmed that Kelly had died in the incident. His injured co-driver Donall Barrett was taken to hospital and the remaining stages of the rally were cancelled. A 41-year-old father of five and a prominent local businessman, Kelly had been elected to Donegal County Council less than a month before his death. Numerous politicians and representatives of the Irish motorsport community expressed sympathy to his family and paid tribute to the late champion, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar calling him a "phenomenal motorsportsman."^[16][17][18] At his funeral, 2014 champion Declan Boyle drove Kelly's Subaru Impreza S12B WRC before the funeral cortège, with Kelly's son in the passenger seat.^[19] Following the funeral mass, Kelly's brothers and friends carried his coffin across the Donegal International Rally ramp.^[20]

On 12 March, all motorsports events were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.^[21] On 20 March, Motorsport Ireland issued a statement that all motorsport events were suspended until 1 June.^[22] On 28 April, the Tarmac Rally Organisers' Association (TROA) announced that the 2020 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship was cancelled.^[23] There were hopes that the event could still go ahead anyway, as a non-counting round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.

Shortly after the Motorsport Ireland announcement, messages on Facebook circulated that the Donegal Rally was cancelled.^[24] Other sources claimed that it had been postponed.^[25] Donegal Motor Club stepped in to correct the rumours that the event was not cancelled, and if permitted, would go ahead as planned on 19–21 June.^[26] However, after the government released a roadmap on easing the COVID-19 restrictions on 6 May,^[27] Motorsport Ireland released a statement the same day that, in line with Phase 4 of this roadmap, the suspension of all motor sports events was extended until the 20 July. Rally events fall under Phase 5 of the guidelines and would not be considered until after 10 August.^[28] The restrictions continued into 2021.

As the country remained subject to restrictions aimed at controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, the TROA made an announcement on 3 February 2021 to cancel the 2021 Championship.^[29][30] As vaccinations were progressing, at the end of May, Motorsport Ireland announced that motorsports events could resume from 7 June, subject to local restrictions.^[31] Remaining restrictions made it impossible for the Donegal International Rally to take place. Instead, a virtual Donegal Rally was held on the traditional days of the event – a series of virtual interviews, videos of past rallies, and social media posts.^[32]

This year's event consisted of 301 kilometres over 20 stages. It was a counting round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and the Celtic Rally Trophy. The starting grid was capped at a maximum of 160 competitors, plus 25 historic and 25 junior competitors. The starting fee was €1,600. The event was labelled as the biggest rally of the year in Ireland.^[33] An incident occurred where a 62-year-old man was arrested after damaging one of the competitor cars by cutting wires and the fuel lines.^[34]

The 2025 Wilton Donegal International Rally was held over three days between 20–22 June. It once again was part of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. The rally consisted of 20 stages totalling 271 kilometres. It was won by Callum Devine for the third year in a row.^[35] He finished just over 20 seconds ahead of Meirion Evans in second place. Former World Rally Championship driver and current ERC champion Hayden Paddon was a late entrant to the event and was second overall after the first day, however he retired from the rally after a roll on SS13.^[36]

The event was previously sponsored by Shell, Topaz Energy and Joule. The current sponsors of the Donegal International Rally are Wilton Recycling and The Mount Errigal Hotel.

• Official Site
• Donegal International Rally Past Winners
• James McDaid Crash Video – 1986
• Donegal International Rally Images on Letterkenny Guide
• Donegal International Rally Images on Flickr
• Donegal International Rally Images on Rally Retro