When the thunder rolls: Donegal Rally crews race the weather for glory

The thunder rolled as Callum Devine clipped the helmet closed at Cashel Glebe.

He was within ten minutes of winning the Donegal International Rally and had a 49.7-second lead. Just the 18km of Fanad Head, the final stage, remained.

Darkness fell overhead and Devine was keen to get the VW Polo GTI R5 motoring.

“We just wanted to get on with it,” the Claudy man said. “We could hear the thunderstorms coming to our left and I was just thinking: 'Let us at the road'. We pushed on all well.”

Devine was the quickest over the Fanad loop and he arrived in Portsalon now among the pantheon of greats to have won an event that has become renowned the world over.

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During a Safari Rally in Kenya during the 1980s, Terry Harryman sat in the corner of a bar in Nairobi and listened as Ari Vatanen, who won Donegal in 1978 in a Ford Escort RS1800, regale the natives.

“You haven’t lived until you have done Knockalla, Horn Head and Atlantic Drive.”

The story stuck with Harryman, who returned to win Donegal as navigator to Mark Lovell in 1988 in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth.

Lovell won the British Rally Championship in 1986.

Another former British Rally kingpin tackled Donegal last weekend when the crews, as Devine noted, were racing the weather as much as each other.

Matt Edwards crashed out of last year's event and spent a few days in Letterkenny University Hospital for his trouble.

The Welshman was back to make amends. The diff on his VW Polo GTI R5 broke in the early moments of day one, but Edwards was back in his groove by the time Saturday arrived.

With the gap to the leading crews widening, Edwards threw his cards on the table at service and effectively went all in with his chips.

“We put a couple of spares in on the second loop and we put them cross front-to-back,” he explained having gambled correctly. “It worked really well. It was a bit of a gamble, but it gave us a harder tyre package and it worked to our advantage.

“We were going to either stay at a similar rate or take some time – and that's what we needed to do and that's what we did and it paid off.”

Edwards indicated a willingness to return in 2024 and organisers are sure to take up on his comments as he adds a further bit of stardust.

Donegal continues to endure, its three days stretching into four this time with a ceremonial start on Thursday night on Letterkenny Main Street.

John Dolan played music there, entertaining the masses from the street outside the Voodoo Venue.
On Sunday, he was at the wheel of a Mk2 Escort. Dolan was competing in the event for the 19th time.

“I really enjoyed it” Dolan said. “It was just a brilliant rally. Everything fell into place. The stages were tough, but they were enjoyable.”

Alongside him as navigator was the veteran note caller Francie Devine. The 70-year-old finished for the fourth time in succession and has lost none of his enthusiasm.

The same could be said of John McCafferty, the south Donegal co-driver who went under starter's orders for a staggering 41st time. Giving the directions to Trevor Bustard in the Evo 9, the pair won class 20.

John's son, Dermot, has followed in the footsteps. Dermot rode shotgun with Michael Boyle to finish 21st overall in a VW Polo. Michael's father, the former Donegal International winner Declan Boyle also competed, bagging a 14th-placed overall finish in a Citroen C3.

John Bonner earned a top five spot in the national rally, 40 years after his father Seamus famously won the event with Seamus McGettigan on the notes – the first all-Donegal crew to take victory. John's Mk2 Escort was in livery reminiscent of that of his father in '83.

“On Sunday, the rain was coming and going and we got caught on wrong tyre at times,” John said at the Mount Errigal Hotel finish ramp.

“It was a nice weekend. We had a good, clean run. We had a good local battle. The aim first and foremost is to get to the finish. Until you do Donegal you don't realise how tough it really is.”

It had been a decade since Rodney Wilton competed in Donegal, but the Cavan man was back at the wheel last weekend, now as the title sponsor.

“If you don't hold this event in high regard, you don't want to be rallying,” was Wilton's assessment at the conclusion.

“It was a fantastic event. Its great to be here. We really got into it and it brought back really good memories – just what Donegal is all about.”

Clerk of the Course Eamonn McGee – who had a full entry list and a stacked reserve field in waiting - reported record crowds in Glen Village and Knockalla. At one hairpin corner on Knockalla, the COC estimated that there were 'anything up to 5,000 on it alone' and the crowds thronged to Atlantic Drive and Fanad, too.

It is one of the reasons Devine was so emotional as he came off that final stage.

He said: “This is the rally everybody wants. It's a dream. I was coming here since I was a young boy watching my dad competing here. It's surreal to be here. There was no rally I wanted more than this one.”

Members of the family of the late Manus Kelly were at the ramp to present the Manus Kelly Trophy to the winning crew. The Glenswilly man, who lost his life while competing at the 2019 Donegal Rally, was firmly in the mind of the winner.

He said: “We wanted the Manus Kelly trophy too, that was in the back of our minds when we went to Fanad.”

The family ties keep on popping up in Donegal.

Teighearnàn Kelly, a younger brother of Manus, finished amid emotional scenes in his Civic, which included a rooftop tribute: 'Thanks for the memories. The King of the Hills'.

“It was emotional,” the 33-year-old said. “It's hard for the family. Fair play to them, they're a great support.

“It's my first Donegal so this is unreal. It's special to go over a ramp I watched Manus go over many times.”

The national rally has provided its share of thrills and spills. It was here that Manus won in a Mk2 Escort in 2015, a result that catapulted him towards the WRC machinery.

Kevin Gallagher breezed to victory in the distinctive Darrian T90 GTR, the Rathmullan man retaining his crown from 12 months earlier.

“If we get away clean and the weather behaves itself, we should be able to get a bit more time,” he predicted at Parc Ferme on Friday evening.

Some 48 hours later, he was spraying champagne.

“We're over the moon to get it,” Gallagher said after finishing tenth overall, pipping Gareth MacHale by 2.3 seconds.

“We put a game plan together and we knew what we were doing from the start.”

Behind Bonner and Johnny Baird were two other Donegal crews. The McGettigan brothers, Kyle and Dale, followed with Patrick McHugh and Pauric O'Donnell were next.

“It was a savage challenge,” McHugh said. “We were on wrong tyres all day and we had so many moments. We had a good result and we are delighted to get here.”

McGettigan was another who 'couldn't call tyres at all there'.

“The weather was mad,” he said. “It was nip and tuck all weekend. We are over the moon; its just great to get here,”

David Gordon and Brendan McElhinney won class 9 having ran the weekend without a first gear on the Rover MG ZR.

“Off the line was the worst, but we didn't have to use it in the stages,” Gordon said.

There were class wins too for other Donegal competitors: Kevin McLaughlin and Aodhan Gallagher in class 11F; Johnny Jordan and Gary McNern in class 13; Bustard and McCafferty in class 20; Jason Mooney and Eamonn Bonner (who was in the middle of his Leaving Cert) in class 22; Gareth Doherty, who sat with class 24 winner Ryan Loughran to finish sixth overall; Dylan Eves in class RC4.