{"id":511437,"date":"2026-06-21T18:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T18:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/511437\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T18:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T18:10:12","slug":"teenager-15-killed-at-donegal-rally-named-locally-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/511437\/","title":{"rendered":"Teenager (15) killed at Donegal rally named locally \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The teenager killed following an incident at the Donegal<\/a> International Rally on Saturday has been named locally as Tadhg Callaghan Carter (15).<\/p>\n

Tadhg was one of a group of three teenagers who were shunted into a field by the force of a passing rally competitor in the event at Trentagh, near Kilmacrennan on Saturday.<\/p>\n

In a statement, garda\u00ed<\/a> said they continue to investigate the sudden death of the teenager.<\/p>\n

The St Eunan\u2019s College student was rushed to Letterkenny University Hospital<\/a> but was pronounced dead later that evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cShortly before 5:00pm, Emergency Services and Garda\u00ed were alerted following an incident involving a participating vehicle at Trentagh, close to Kilmacrennan, \u2018Location 15 on Special Stage 12 Gartan,\u201d garda\u00ed said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cA spectator (a male in his mid-teens) was conveyed to Letterkenny University Hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe local coroner has been notified, and a port-mortem examination will be arranged.\u201d<\/p>\n

Event organisers Motorsport Ireland and the Donegal Motor Club confirmed on Saturday evening that the remainder of the event has been cancelled. It is the first spectator death at a Motorsport Ireland event since 2012.<\/p>\n

The road has since been reopened.<\/p>\n

\u201cGarda\u00ed are appealing for witnesses who were present at \u2018Location 15 on Special Stage 12 Gartan\u2019 on Saturday 20th June 2026, particularly those with mobile phone or dash cam footage in the area,\u201d garda\u00ed added.<\/p>\n

Tadhg had just completed his Junior Cycle exams and was due to enter Fifth Year in September.<\/p>\n

The school said it was with profound sadness and a heavy heart that the school community learned of the sudden and tragic passing of their student.<\/p>\n

The statement said: \u201cTadhg was a deeply valued and popular member of our school community, and his loss will be felt deeply by his classmates, friends, teachers, and everyone who knew him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe extend our deepest, most heartfelt condolences to Tadhg\u2019s parents, brother, sisters, extended family and his wide circle of friends at this time of unimaginable grief. Our thoughts, prayers, and support are with them all.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a school community, we will come together to support one another, especially Tadhg\u2019s classmates and friends, over the difficult days and weeks ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

St Eunan\u2019s College will open on Monday to support students, parents, staff and the whole school community from 11am.<\/p>\n

A book of condolence will be available in the College chapel. There will be a short prayer service at 12pm followed by light refreshments in the college canteen and courtyard.<\/p>\n

Parish priest of Gaoth Dobhair, Fr Brian \u00d3 Fearraigh, said Tadhg\u2019s had reminded everyone about the fragility of life.<\/p>\n

He asked people to pray for the family and friends of the young boy but also for all those involved in the incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cNews of such a loss casts a shadow of sadness over the entire Donegal International Rally and the wider motorsport community. It has touched hearts across Donegal and far beyond, reminding us all of the fragility of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this heartbreaking time, we remember especially the young man\u2019s family, whose hearts are burdened tonight by a grief beyond words.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also hold in our prayers the driver and co-driver, together with their families, friends and support teams, who will carry the weight of today\u2019s tragedy in their own hearts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remember too the emergency services, marshals, volunteers, organisers, fellow competitors, spectators, and all who witnessed or were affected by this tragedy. Dia libh uilig anois agus i gc\u00f3na\u00ed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tadgh\u2019s GAA club, Glenswilly, have suspended all its activities in light of their young player\u2019s sudden passing.<\/p>\n

They are also asking the public to respect the family\u2019s request for privacy at this time.<\/p>\n

Anyone with information is asked to contact Letterkenny Garda station at 074 916 7100 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111.<\/p>\n

Investigations are ongoing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The teenager killed following an incident at the Donegal International Rally on Saturday has been named locally as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[45,1485,61,60,1486,112],"class_list":["post-511437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-donegal","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-letterkenny","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511437","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=511437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}