Donegal International Rally

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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.^{[citation needed]}

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 Special Stage 2 on the first day, but was back the second day under rally 2 rule.^[14]

Due to high traffic and spectator volumes, Special Stage 7 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 Special Stage 13.^[36]

Year	Driver	Co-Driver	Car	Notes
1972	Cahal Curley	Peter Scott	BMW 2002	[37]
1973	Cahal Curley	Terry Harryman	Porsche Carrera
1974	Cahal Curley	Victor Armstrong	Porsche Carrera
1975	Achim Warmbold	John Davenport	BMW 2002
1976	Brian Nelson	Malcolm Neill	Porsche Carrera
1977	Billy Coleman	Austin Frazer	Lancia Stratos HF
1978	Ari Vatanen	Peter Bryant	Ford Escort RS1800
1979	Brian Nelson	Rodney Cole	Ford Escort RS1800
1980	Jimmy McRae	Mike Nicholson	Vauxhall Chevette HSR
1981	John Lyons	Bill Moffett	Ford Escort RS1800
1982	John Lyons	Bill Moffett	Ford Escort RS1800
1983	Vincent Bonner	Seamus McGettigan	Ford Escort RS1800
1984	Billy Coleman	Ronan Morgan	Opel Manta 400
1985	Billy Coleman	Ronan Morgan	Porsche 911 SC RS
1986	Billy Coleman	Ronan Morgan	MG Metro 6R4
1987	Bertie Fisher	Austin Frazer	Opel Manta 400
1988	Mark Lovell	Terry Harryman	Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1989	David Llewellin	Phil Short	Toyota Celica GT-Four
1990	Austin McHale	Dermot O'Gorman	BMW M3
1991	James Cullen	Ellen Morgan	Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1992	Bertie Fisher	Rory Kennedy	Subaru Legacy RS
1993	Bertie Fisher	Rory Kennedy	Subaru Legacy RS
1994	Stephen Finlay	Roy Campbell	Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1995	Bertie Fisher	Rory Kennedy	Subaru Legacy RS
1996	Andrew Nesbitt	George Millar	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1997	Austin McHale	Brian Murphy	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1998	Andrew Nesbitt	James O'Brien	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1999	James Cullen	Ellen Morgan	Subaru Impreza 555
2000	Andrew Nesbitt	James O'Brien	Subaru Impreza S5 WRC
2001	Event did not run, foot-and-mouth disease outbreak			[38]
2002	Andrew Nesbitt	James O'Brien	Subaru Impreza S6 WRC	Event Cancelled after Special Stage 2 [39]
2003	Andrew Nesbitt	James O'Brien	Subaru Impreza S7 WRC
2004	Eugene Donnelly	Paul Kiely	Toyota Corolla WRC	[40]
2005	Eugene Donnelly	Paul Kiely	Toyota Corolla WRC	[41]
2006	Andrew Nesbitt	James O'Brien	Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 05	[42][43]
2007	Sébastien Loeb	Daniel Elena	Citroën C4 WRC	[44]
2008	Eugene Donnelly	Paul Kiely	Škoda Fabia WRC	Event Stopped after Specia Stage 11 [45]
2009	Gareth MacHale	Brian Murphy	Ford Focus RS WRC 06	[46]
2010	Gareth MacHale	Brian Murphy	Ford Focus RS WRC 06	Event Stopped after Special Stage 11 [47]
2011	Tim McNulty	Paul Kiely	Subaru Impreza S12B WRC 07	[48]
2012	Garry Jennings	Neil Doherty	Subaru Impreza S14 WRC 08	[49]
2013	Sam Moffett	James O'Reilly	Subaru Impreza WRC	[50]
2014	Declan Boyle	Brian Boyle	Subaru Impreza S12B WRC 07	[51]
2015	Garry Jennings	Rory Kennedy	Subaru Impreza S12B WRC 07	[52]
2016	Manus Kelly	Donall Barrett	Subaru Impreza S12B WRC 07	[53]
2017	Manus Kelly	Donall Barrett	Subaru Impreza S12B WRC 07	[54]
2018	Manus Kelly	Donall Barrett	Subaru Impreza S12B WRC 07	[55]
2019	Sam Moffett	James Fulton	Ford Fiesta RS WRC	Event stopped after Special Stage 15 [56]
2020	Event cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021	Event cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022	Josh Moffett	Andy Hayes	Hyundai i20 R5	[57]
2023	Callum Devine	Noel O Sullivan	Volkswagen Polo GTI R5
2024	Callum Devine	Noel O Sullivan	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	[58]
2025	Callum Devine	Noel O Sullivan	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	[59]

* as of 2022^[37]

Driver most wins Andrew Nesbitt 6 Billy Coleman 4 Bertie Fisher 4

Driver most starts Robbie Peoples 29 Daniel Conaghan 28 Ivan Stewart 28 James Cullen 25 Thomas Keys 25 Austin MacHale 24 Seamus Gallagher 23 Damien Gallagher 23 Bertie Fisher 22

Most stage wins Bertie Fisher 110 Andrew Nesbitt 103 Austin MacHale 81 Billy Coleman 61 James Cullen 60