Donegal 2019, one of the crowned pieces of Irish Rally and at first it was going to be a special one for sadly the wrong reasons. Craig Breen who was becoming a rising star within the sport was fighting for the Irish Tarmac Championship.
Manus Kelly who got the nickname “King of the Hills” having won the event three times on the trot was going for his fourth consecutive Donegal win. And finally, YouTube sensation Ken Block competing in his first ever Irish Rally event in his own Ford Escort Cosworth.
The 2019 running pulled in no less than 160 entries. According to Block, 60 of those entries alone were Mk2 Ford Escorts one of which included multiple TT Isle of Man Winner Michael Dunlop.
It was shaping up to be one of the most competitive Donegal Rally events in recent years and by the end of Day 1 & Day 2 it didn’t disappoint.
Sam Moffett & Craig Breen were going toe to toe at the top of the field as the pair were separated by 13 seconds with Callum Devine in third and Gary Jennings not that far behind.
For Ken Block after having a steady opening stage on Day 1, it went a bit pair shaped soon afterwards. Block’s Escort Cosworth ended in a hedge on SS2.
While a hedge on Dooish has put paid to his hopes, all isn’t completely lost for Block fans as he will be allowed compete under rally two rules the following day. Which he continued on to adore his fellow fans throughout the following two days.
For Manus Kelly sadly it would come to a fatal end. On stage 15, running in sixth place on the Fanad Head loop, His Hyundai i20 R5 car went through a hedge and into a field, and was damaged extensively.
The Gardaí subsequently confirmed his death. His injured co-driver Donall Barrett was hospitalized and the remaining stages of the 2019 rally were cancelled.
It brought a massive sting to the tail and a massive shock to the sport in which rally stars across the UK & Ireland paid tribute to Kelly.
Around 700 mourners attended Kelly’s funeral at St Columba’s Church, Glenswilly on 27 June 2019. The funeral cortège was led by the Subaru Impreza S12B WRC in which he had won the Donegal International Rally three times, driven by rally champion Declan Boyle, and with Kelly’s son Charlie in the passenger seat.
As of writing this in 2023 it’s hard to imagine that the two other drivers mentioned a lot in this article are no longer with us as well.
In January Ken Block died at age 55 in a snowmobile accident near his ranch in Woodland, Utah. The Wasatch County sheriff’s department reported that Block had been riding in the Milly Hollow area when his snowmobile upended on a steep slope and landed on top of him.
In April Craig Breen Breen died after a collision during a pre-event test ahead of the 2023 Croatia Rally.
Talented rally drivers in their own accord. Donegal 2019 – an event that we will ever see these three men compete on the same stages, the same bit of tarmac loving their favourite hobby the most, Rallying.
