Kris Meeke, Josh McErlean, Callum Devine and Michael Dunlop are all set to compete at the 2026 Donegal International Rally, giving the event one of its strongest line-ups in years. The rally runs from Friday to Sunday, with the first of 20 stages on Friday.
Meeke’s return is the headline inside the headline. He will make his first Irish rallying appearance in Donegal in 18 years, having last driven there in 2008, and he arrives with five World Rally Championship wins behind him, the last coming in 2017. He will drive a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 alongside Liam Regan and has already been testing in Donegal ahead of the event.
For McErlean, the weekend carries a different kind of pull. The 26-year-old will step away from his World Rally Championship programme to line up in a Ford Fiesta Rally2, taking a break from his Ford Puma Rally1 duties with M-Sport. He will also be making his first Donegal start, a place he used to watch from between the hedges while growing up. He is due back in the WRC in Greece after Donegal.
Devine brings the local pressure. The defending winner has taken the last three Donegal rallies and is chasing a fourth straight victory that would be unprecedented. His run has made him the driver the rest of the field has to beat, and that includes Meeke’s return after nearly two decades away.
Dunlop adds another layer to the weekend without changing the fight at the sharp end. He will compete in a Ford Escort, but not for overall honours, which leaves the outright contest to the group at the front while still giving the rally a name that will draw attention across Donegal.
The build-up has also brought a reminder that the event is not only about speed. Gardaí from Letterkenny Roads Policing Unit, working alongside the RSA, seized two defective cars at checkpoints yesterday as rally travel was expected. One had no anti-roll bar and a suspected faulty exhaust, while the other was found with worn brake pads. The warning was blunt: if a vehicle is defective and someone is planning to travel to the rally, they should have a rethink, and no one should take risks with road safety.
That leaves a weekend with profile, pressure and a clear sporting question. Meeke has the pedigree, McErlean has the momentum of a current WRC driver, Devine has the home record, and Dunlop brings the crowd. The first stage on Friday will show whether Donegal’s biggest names have been drawn into a race that matches the billing.
