Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
The Willie Loughman Forest Rally got the Irish motor racing season underway attracting 80 motor racing crews from all over the country and as far a field as Scotland and the US.
The rally, hosted by Carrick-on-Suir Motor Club, was the opening round of the Valvoline Irish Forest Rally Championship.
Its stages took place in Gurteen Forest near Kilsheelan, the Anner Forest near Slievenamon, Clondonnell Wood near Rathgormack and Ahenny Wood near Faugheen throughout Saturday, February 3.
The racing crews left from the Mill River Business Park in Carrick-on-Suir at 11am that day and the final stages took place after nightfall.
Overall winners after a tough and long day of racing were Andrew Purcell of Slieverue, Co. Kilkenny and his co-driver Mark Wiley from Mitchelstown, who competed in a Ford Fiesta R5.
They finished 19 seconds ahead of the similar car of Monaghan’s Barry McKenna/Leon Jordan.
Cavan’s Stephen McCann (Fiesta S2000) and co-driver Kaine Treanor finished third – a minute and 37.1 seconds further behind.
Carrick on Suir’s James Dunphy (Toyota Corolla) and his co-driver Shane Gazely won Class 11R on the first outing in a car that was built over six years.
World Rally Championship ace, Citroen’s Craig Breen, drove a Ford Escort belonging to James Coleman as one of the sweeper cars. A total of 59 cars were classified as rally finishers.
Carrick-on-Suir Motor Club Chairman James Coleman said about 400 competitors took part in the rally and they and rally spectators spent thousands of euros in the local economy during their visit to the Carrick-on-Suir area
"There wasn't a guest room to be got between Clonmel and Waterford," he said.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
