A new National Historic Rally Championship is set to be incorporated into the Triton Showers Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship for the 2026 season.
This marks the first time that a dedicated national title for historic machinery will be contested within the framework of the main national series.
The new championship is open to all Appendix K cars, with crews set to compete for the newly established National Historic Rally Championship Trophy. Organisers have confirmed that while drivers in Class 17 and 18 cars remain eligible to compete in their respective categories, the official national historic title is reserved specifically for Appendix K or Class 19 machinery.
Championship Chairman Declan Tumilty stated that the decision reflects the changing landscape of Irish rallying.
“There is an increasing number of these historic cars now competing across the country and, as a Motorsport Ireland sanctioned series, it was deemed appropriate to create a formal national title to recognise these competitors,” he said.
The introduction of the historic trophy is expected to boost entries for the upcoming season, attracting high-quality machinery that was previously seen primarily on stand-alone historic events.
It is anticipated that historic crews will be seeded on merit within the main field of all national rallies with the top drivers expected to start around car 35 to 40.
The 2026 Triton Showers Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship will consist of eight rounds in total.
The season gets underway on March 1 with the Mayo Stages Rally.
Based in Westport, the event serves as the opening round for the Triton Showers National series, the Sligo Pallets Border Championship, the Top Part West Coast Championship, and the second year of the Dacia Sandero Challenge Cup.
West Tyre and the Westport Woods Hotel & Spa have been confirmed as title sponsors for the Mayo event.
West Tyre is a family-run business with depots in Ballinrobe and Westport, operated by the Murphy family who have a long history in Irish motorsport across tarmac, autograss, and autocross.
The Westport Woods Hotel & Spa will serve as the event headquarters, providing accommodation and leisure facilities within its 300-year-old woodland setting.
Clerk of the Course Stephen McGing has designed a route featuring a loop of classic stages that have not been utilized in several years.
The rally is designed with a competitor-focused layout, ensuring minimal road mileage with scrutiny, sign-on, and service all located within Westport.
2026 Triton Showers National Rally Championship calendar
Round 1 Mayo Stages March 1
Round 2 Birr Stages Rally March 29
Round 3 Monaghan Rally April 12
Round 4 Carlow Stages Rally May 17
Round 5 Circuit of Munster Rally May 31
Round 6 Stonethowers Rally July 19
Round 7 Galway Summer Rally August 23
Round 8 Donegal Harvest Rally October 10
The Galway Motor Club held the launch of the 2026 Corrib Oil Galway International Rally on Friday 16th January in the Connacht Hotel, Galway. The Hotel is one of the associate sponsors of this years rally. Clerk of the Course Mark Parsons announced that Galway Motor Clubs chosen partner for this years event is the Irish Wheelchair Association. Over one hundred entries have been received to date, but entries will remain open until 23rd January, and all the signs are that it will be an extremely competitive rally.
Among those who have entered to date include 2025 Tarmac Champion Callum Devine in his Skoda Fabia Rally 2. Noel O’Sullivan will again co-drive Devine, as the pair will be looking for their first win in Galway. Declan Boyle, along with sons Michael & Matthew will be expected to feature strongly in Galway, and Declan is of course a former winner of the event. The family trio follows in the footsteps of the MacHales (Austin, Aaron & Gareth in 2005), and Eves (Kevin, Corey & Dylan in 2023). Josh Moffett & Andy Hayes return in the Rally 2 version of the Hyundai i20, while Eddie Doherty, David Kelly, Eamonn Kelly, Darren Gass, Tommy Doyle and Kevin Eves are just some of the other names in the mix for overall honours. Neil Roskell and Sam Touzel make the trip from the UK in their respective Rally 2 Fiestas.
The Modified entry also looks competitive with Patrick McHugh (Darrian), Mark Alcorn, Brian Lavelle, Kevin Kelleher, Martin McGee, Rodney Wilton, Hugh McQuaid, and Daniel Breslin all in Escorts, just a few on the drivers looking to take honours. Local entries in the main rally include Stephen Greaney, Paul McHugh, Pat Kelly, Dean Raftery, Des Lyons, Paul McHugh, Adrian Quinn, Stephen Hernon and Cathal Keane.
The Historic entry features top Galway Mini exponent Ray Cunningham along with current historic champion John O’Donnell in a BMW M3. Jason McSweeney has entered in a Ford Escort WRC, while after a number of years absence from the event, Kai-Dieter makes a welcome return from Germany in his Porsche 911 to add variety to the field. The Junior rally also promises to be competitive with a number Galway names on the entry including Jason Gorham, Eoghan O’Boyle, Cian Hynes and Darragh Mullins.
