BY RYAN FERRY
EAMONN Kelly was hooked on the Donegal Rally from a young age and he’s looking forward to competing in the three-day event this year.
Kelly’s father Donagh is a well-known rally driver and businessman from Frosses.
He has had many jaunts at glory in his home county but for Eamonn, his first motorsport memory is actually of Colin MacRae when he came to the Donegal tar in 2006.
“Donegal was the first rally I ever spectated at in the year that MacRae was doing it.
“I specifically remember him coming around the corner broad sideways and that was enough to get me hooked.
“Growing up, I would have seen dad doing the rally countless years and seeing the amount of prep he put into it and how much it meant to him.
“That created a strong importance around the rally and it’s a big reason as to why I’m into it
“I haven’t done the rally in nearly four years.
“I’ve only done it twice before so it’s not a rally I actually know that well.
“We were always away with the Junior WRC. There was always a round at a similar time and it never suited.
“I’m looking forward to doing it and just enjoying the buzz and getting to test out a Rally 2 car.”
Kelly won the Billy Coleman award in 2022 and went on to compete in the Junior WRC in many different countries along with co-driver Conor Mohan.
They have built up experience encountering the highs and lows of rallying.
“The last few years were different. I got a taste of rallying abroad and learning it that way. Taking on different World Championship events and seeing how to tackle them.
“Any driving builds up your experience and our speed came on with that as well.
“It was a fantastic way of learning and bringing you on and it’s nice to have that in the bank.”
Kelly won the Donegal Forestry Rally last November but the 2026 season hasn’t quite gone to plan so far.
“It’s been a quiet year.
“We had an accident in Galway at the start of the year and that really set us off on the wrong foot because it took ages to get the car repaired and we have been out in Killarney and the Circuit of Munster since.
“We haven’t done that much and I have no structured Championship this year.
“We will do Donegal and see what happens after that.
“Killarney was just about getting the speed back up again and getting miles in the car and the Circuit of Munster the speed was much better and we were second overall when we unfortunately slid off the road. It was a very small mistake on a tricky section.
“The speed is definitely there. Donegal is a three-day rally and you need to be there on the Sunday.
“While the competition is extremely high, we just want to go there and focus on our own speed and see how it goes.
“I want to go and do my best and try and be as sharp as I can be without taking crazy risks because it would be nice to be there on the Sunday.”
Kelly and Mohan will compete in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 and they are the 12th seed for the big event.
The 27-year-old would love to be in the mix come Sunday evening but the main priority is to enjoy the event.
“It’s an incredible entry list and it’s nice to be part of it.
“There’s so much calibre of competition. You have a lot of drivers who could be there or thereabouts.
“It will be amazing and whoever can be the most consistently fast I suppose will take it.
“It’s anybody’s game. It would be nice to not be too far away and try and be in a decent position come Sunday and just try and enjoy every moment.”