West Cork Rally
The West Cork Rally is an annual motor sport event held in Clonakilty, Co. Cork. Promoted and organised by Cork Motor Club, the rally began in 1977 and has run on, or near St. Patricks Weekend ever since with just two exceptions (1987 & 2001). It is a popular two day event which attracts a lot of interest across Ireland and the U.K. with many competitors and spectators travelling to the rally each year.It was a counting round of the Irish National Rally Championship for a number of years in the early days. In 2015 it became a full round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship for the first time. While it became known as predominantly a clubman rally, it has run under an International Permit on two occasions, 1986 & 2016.
Early Years (1977 - 1980)
The first West Cork Rally took place on the 18 & 19 March 1977, and from an initial entry of 80 cars, 68 made the start with 28 classified finishers. Ger Buckley & John Caplice were scheduled to do the event, but in the week leading up to the rally Billy Coleman was looking to drive his cousins car. The plan was for Billy to drive and Ger to co-drive, but after a test Ger decided it was not for him and that his regular co-drvier John Caplice would sit with Billy instead. John Caplice said he wasn't aware of this until the morning of the rally when he arrived in Clonakilty! However the partnership was very successful and they took a very comprehensive win.
The second event in 1978 saw the rally upgraded to a counting round of the new Shellsport Stages Rally Championship (the modern day National Championship). An ambitious route under the watchful eye of the relatively youthful Michael 'Bones' O'Connor saw the 21 stage rally start in Clonakilty and end up in Bantry for the lunch halt. The same stages were tackled in reverse all the way back towards Clonakily that day with a total of thirteen tough test in mainly appalling weather. The second day had eight more stages, and the weather didn't let up, but Mick & Anne O'Connell were the victors in somewhat controversial circumstances. They were off the road for over 20 minutes on a stage that was ultimately cancelled. Ger Buckley his closest rival wasn't happy and appealed the decision to the RIAC, but the O'Connells were eventually awarded the win. The event lost its championship status for 1979, but that didn't hinder its progress as by 1980 upwards of 160 crews were starting the event, many of them travelling from all parts of the U.K.
The Zanussi Years (1981 - 1986)
1981 saw Zanussi come on board as the events first major title sponsor and Tony Pond became the first overseas driver to win the rally in a Vauxhall Chevette HSR. Zanussi were to stay on board as title sponsors for six years in total as the rallys profile grew each year. Along with coming into the National Rally Championship again (up to 1985), it was also a counting round of the EARS / Motoring News championship which attracted a lot of U.K. crews. Over 170 crews started the 1984 event with many more, including Billy Coleman, on a bulging reserve list. Cork Motor Club applied for an International permit for 1986 which saw it removed from the National series, but still not part of the Tarmac Championship. Frank Meagher won the 1986 event which was his first international win. There were also entrants from France and West Germany for this rally.
Tarmac Championship Years (2014 - 2016)
Donagh Kelly created history on the 2016 event when he became only the second driver to win the rally three times, and the first achieve this in successive years. As of 2018 he was won the event a remarkable five times in a row. The rally was a counting round for the Tarmac Modified Championship only in 2014, and was a full counting round in 2015. The West Cork Rally has run under an international permit since 2016 and was the opening round of the 2018 Tarmac Championship following the cancellation of the Galway International Rally for 2018.
Roll of Honour
| Year | Driver | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 |  |
John Caplice | Ford Escort RS1800 |
| 1978 | |
Anne O'Connell | Ford Escort RS1800 |
| 1979 | |
John Caplice | Ford Escort RS1800 |
| 1980 | |
Brendan Neville | Ford Escort RS1800 |
| 1981 |  |
Ronan Morgan | Vauxhall Chevette HSR |
| 1982 | |
Ronan Morgan | Vauxhall Chevette HSR |
| 1983 | |
Leo Whyte | Vauxhall Chevette HSR |
| 1984 | |
Vincent Meade | Ford Escort RS1800 |
| 1985 | |
Vincent Meade | Ford Escort RS1800 |
| 1986 | |
Trevor Hughes | Ford Escort RS1800 |
| 1987 | No Rally - Insurance Crisis | ||
| 1988 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
Alan McCann | Darrian T9 |
| 1989 | |
Tom Meaney | Opel Manta 400 |
| 1990 | |
Ronan McNamee | BMW M3 |
| 1991 | |
Tom Meaney | BMW M3 |
| 1992 | |
Mike Bowen | MG Metro 6R4 |
| 1993 | |
Mike Bowen | MG Metro 6R4 |
| 1994 | |
James O'Brien | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 |
| 1995 | |
Gerry Hynes | Ford Escort RS Cosworth |
| 1996 | |
James O'Brien | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 |
| 1997 | |
Gerry Hynes | Ford Escort RS Cosworth |
| 1998 | |
Pat Lordan | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 |
| 1999 | |
Gerry Hynes | Ford Escort RS Cosworth |
| 2000 | |
Mickey Joe Morrissey | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 2001 | No Rally - Foot & Mouth Disease | ||
| 2002 | |
Aled Davies | Ford Escort WRC |
| 2003 |  |
Sean Mullally | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 2004 | |
Paul Nagle | Ford Focus WRC |
| 2005 | |
Helen O'Sullivan | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 2006 | |
Sean Mullally | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 2007 | |
Dermot O'Gorman | Ford Focus WRC |
| 2008 | |
Paul Nagle | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 2009 | |
Kieran Murphy | Toyota Corolla WRC |
| 2010 | |
Paul Kiely | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 2011 | |
Damien Connolly | Skoda Fabia S2000 |
| 2012 | |
Tony McDaid | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 2013 | |
John Higgins | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 2014 | |
Kevin Flanagan | Ford Focus WRC |
| 2015 | |
Kevin Flanagan | Ford Focus WRC |
| 2016 | |
Conor Foley | Ford Focus WRC |
| 2017 | |
Conor Foley | Ford Focus WRC |
| 2018 | |
Conor Foley | Ford Focus WRC |