{"id":502009,"date":"2026-06-16T06:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T06:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/502009\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T06:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T06:17:09","slug":"north-west-set-for-irelands-biggest-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/502009\/","title":{"rendered":"North west set for Ireland’s biggest rally"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Donegal International Rally, Ireland’s largest motorsport event, will see 200 crews compete over 20 stages covering 270km in the north west this weekend.<\/p>\n

Derry driver Callum Devine and his co-driver Kerry man Noel O’Sullivan will be hoping to win the three-day tarmac rally for a fourth year in a row, a feat never achieved.<\/p>\n

Since 1972, the event, the only one of its kind in Ireland and the UK, has grown into one of the most respected rallies in Europe backed by a tight-knit Irish rally community.<\/p>\n

Some of the stages will return to Gaoth Dobhair and An F\u00e1l Carrach, a tribute to the Rally of the Rosses held in July 1971.<\/p>\n

That event in 1971, organised by the founders of the Donegal Motor Club was the preamble of the International Rally that ran for the first time the following year.<\/p>\n

The Donegal Motor Club said the 2026 Wilton Recycling Donegal International Rally is “Ireland\u2019s biggest rally, attracting drivers from all over Ireland and around the world”.<\/p>\n

There are some new stages across stunning scenery; some stages reintroduced and others tweaked for round five of the NAPA Autoparts Irish Tarmac Rally Championships.<\/p>\n

Saturday morning will see the iconic Knockalla stage set the tone for the day ahead while Sunday will see a reworked Lough Keel stage leading into the iconic Atlantic Drive.<\/p>\n

\"Callum
\nCallum Devine Noel O’Sullivan celebrate their 2024 victory (Pic: Kevin Glendinning Photgraphy\/KG Rally Pics)<\/p>\n

Nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb won in 2007 while multiple winners include Andrew Nesbitt, Billy Coleman, Bertie Fisher, Manus Kelly and Calum Devine.<\/p>\n

The ceremonial start takes place on Thursday evening before the action begins with the first stage on Friday morning in Letterkenny and it will finish in the cathedral town too.<\/p>\n

As anticipation builds, representatives from Donegal County Council, An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na, Donegal Motor Club and local agencies have launched the “Keep the Race in its Place” road safety campaign.<\/p>\n

Chief Executive of Donegal County Council, John G McLaughlin said road safety must remain a shared priority with an increase in traffic expected across the county.<\/p>\n

“We encourage everyone to plan their journeys in advance, allow extra travel time, drive with care, and always adhere to the speed limits,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A
\nA road safety launch ahead of the Donegal International Rally<\/p>\n

Inspector Se\u00e1n McDaid said garda\u00ed will have a comprehensive policing operation in place throughout the event, with public safety the primary focus.<\/p>\n

“Dangerous driving, anti-social behaviour and any actions that place the safety of others at risk will not be tolerated and will be dealt with appropriately,” he said.<\/p>\n

Inspector McDaid said garda\u00ed will be conducting “a robust enforcement operation throughout the weekend.”<\/p>\n

The Donegal Motor Club said it is imperative that the road safety message is followed throughout the week of the event.<\/p>\n

“Please obey the rules of the roads and leave the racing to the Professional Drivers & co-drivers on the stages.<\/p>\n

“Keep the Race in its Place this weekend and keep the roads safe for everyone,” the motor club said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Donegal International Rally, Ireland’s largest motorsport event, will see 200 crews compete over 20 stages covering 270km…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502010,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-502009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}