Donegal International Rally: Spectator dies in accident and rally cancelled

A spectator has died in an accident at the Donegal International Rally on Saturday and the remainder of the event has been cancelled.

A joint statement from governing body Motorsport Ireland and rally organisers Donegal Motor Club confirmed a “young male spectator has passed away” following an accident on the 12th stage.

The accident occurred in the first pass of the Gartan stage of the rally on Saturday afternoon, which was the 12th of 20 in the three-day event – one of the biggest motorsport events on the island of Ireland.

A spokseperson for Motorsport Ireland said two spectators remain in Letterkenny University Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The rally was stopped after the accident and a decision to cancel the rest of the rally was taken as a mark of respect by organisers.

Motorsport Ireland and Donegal Motor Club said they “express their deepest sympathies to the family of the deceased” and asked that their privacy is respected.

Motorsport Ireland and the An Garda Siochana have started an investigation into the circumstances of the accident.

It is the first fatality at the Donegal International Rally since three-time winner Manus Kelly died in a crash in 2019.

In 2008, an 18-year-old spectator died when a car left the road and the rest of the rally was cancelled, and six years earlier two marshals died in an accident at the event.

Kris Meeke, a five-time winner in the World Rally Championship, was leading the rally ahead of Callum Devine and Josh McErlean before it was stopped.