The Kerry Motor Club, organisers of Sunday’s Rose Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally in Tralee, have announced plans for a first Irish rally celebration with milk rather than the customary champagne.

Clonmel’s Roy White (Ford Fiesta WRC) claimed his first victory in a round of the Irish Tarmac Championship courtesy of his win on the Macroom based CBtooolhire.com Cork “20” International Rally.

Monaghan native Barry McKenna (Ford Fiesta R5), who co-driven by Leon Jordan, jetted in from his New York base and claimed victory in the Crafted Fitted Furniture Cork Forest Rally that was based in Mallow and counted as two rounds of the Valvoline Irish Forest Rally Championship.

The desire to win the Joule Donegal International Rally is the ambition of most drivers and even an obsession for some.

Tarmac champion Sam Moffett (Ford Fiesta R5) heads the entry for the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakesthat begins from Killarney tomorrow morning.

After a dramatic opening on the final leg of the Easter Rally in Antrim, when the Subaru WRC of overnight leaders Derek McGarrity/Paddy Robinson failed to start after transmission troubles, Monaghan’s Josh Moffett (Ford Fiesta R5) and his Wexford co-driver Andy Hayes took the spoils and consolidated their lead in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.

There are events that will always buck the trend in Irish rallying and this weekend’s Quality Hotel West Cork Rally, the opening rounds of the Irish Tarmac Championship and the PlasticBags.ie Southern 4 Rally Championship is a prime example.

Second fastest through yesterday’s shakedown stage for RallyRACC Catalunya - Rally de Espana, round 11 of the World Rally Championship, Irish pair Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle spearhead Citroen’s challenge for the three-day encounter.

Monaghan’s Sam Moffett (Fiesta R5) and his Bandon co-driver Karl Atkinson won the Acesigns Cork “20” International Rally following a pulsating battle with Josh Moffett/Keith Moriarty (Fiesta R5).

Monaghan’s Sam Moffett (Ford Fiesta WRC) produced a start-to-finish victory in the Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally, to increase his chances of winning all three major Irish rally championships.

The first day of the Joule Donegal International Rally in Letterkenny was a battle of the Kellys — Frosses driver Donagh Kelly and Letterkenny’s Manus Kelly — while Fermanagh’s Garry Jennings remains very much in touch.

This weekend is likely to be a defining moment in the annals of the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes in Killarney. A glance through the list of previous winners reveal that drivers of World Rally Cars have triumphed since the Millennium, but that thread is tenuous as the new breed of R5 cars is set to bring the sequence to an end.

Although victory in the Abbey Hotel Munster Moonraker Rally wasn’t the ultimate goal for Ballylickey’s Keith Cronin and his Killarney co-driver Mikie Galvin (Ford Fiesta R5), they secured a fine win with a measured and composed drive that provided the perfect preparation for their next outing in the British Rally Championship in three weeks time.

Donegal’s Donagh Kelly (Ford Focus WRC) netted his fourth straight win in the Quality Hotel West Cork Rally, the second round of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.

Having secured what seemed a comfortable victory in the Rallye Du Valais, the final round of the European Rally Championship, Craig Breen (Peugeot 208 T16) was subsequently handed a post-event two-minute penalty that dropped him to second.

As the World Rally Championship moves to higher temperatures in Rally Guanajuato Mexico in stark contrast to the two rounds in Monte Carlo and Sweden, the Irish crew of Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle in their Total Abu Dhabi Citroen DS3 WRC know they have to stop making the type of mistakes that have already cost them valuable championship points.

Dominant through the opening stage, Cork’s Denis Moynihan and his Kerry co-driver Ger Conway in their Airflow Services/Daikin backed Mk 1 Ford Escort went on to take a deserved victory in the Rentokil-Initial Killarney Historic Rally, the first round of the 2015 Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Historic Championship.

"I previously owned a Toyota Corolla — that was the first car I bought as well. Never caused me any trouble."

The Irish crew of Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle guided their Citroen DS3 to a magnificent third place finish on Rally Finland, round eight of the World Rally Championship.

Motorsport: A strong performance over the first run of the stage paved the way for Lisburn’s Wesley Patterson (Ford Escort) and his co-driver Johnny Baird to claim victory in the Cloyne-based AceSigns-sponsored Imokilly Single Stage Rally.

A Limerick man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a retired soldier with a sweeping brush.

The Waterford-based Raven’s Rock Rally, round four of the Dunlop National Rally Championship, was stopped after six of the day’s nine stages after popular Dungarvan driver, Paul Mulcahy was killed when his Toyota Starlet collided with a stone fence on the fourth stage near Kilmacthomas.

There is a strong Irish presence in the Jim Clark International Rally, the second round of British Rally Championship, that begins with a stage around the streets of Duns in the Scottish borders this evening.

Nenagh’s Whitby Moynan (Toyota Special) clinched the Munster Autocross Championship in dramatic fashion with the fastest time on the fourth and final run of the Cork Autocross at Coachford yesterday.

Irish driver Craig Breen on board his Kel-Tech liveried Ford Fiesta won the S2000 World Rally Championship after he secured a category win on the Rally de Espana, the final round of the series.

Rally Italia Sardegna, the penultimate round of the World Rally Championship, continues today against the backdrop of the withdrawals of two manufacturers and a change in driver line-up.

Local hero Darragh O’Riordan (Subaru WRC) bids to record back-to-back wins in this weekend’s Orchard Motorsport Cork ‘20’ International Rally as Armagh’s Darren Gass (Subaru WRC) aims to seal his inaugural Irish Tarmac title with Fermanagh’s Garry Jennings, the only other driver that can win the title, a doubtful starter.

Tomorrow is a red letter day for the fledgling Imokilly Motor Club who will host their first ever stage rally since affiliating with Motorsport Ireland six years ago.

Although not included in the original seeded lists for tomorrow’s Sligo Rally or Sunday’s Sean Conlon Memorial Forest Rally in Mitchelstown, the in-form Garry Jennings is likely to contest both events, although in different cars.

In a close finish to the Modern Tyres Mourne Rally, round five of the Carryduff Forklifts Northern Ireland Rally Championship, Drew Stewart (Ford Escort) took a 12-second victory over the Mitsubishi of Andrew Stewart.

The weekend events north and south of the border provide an interesting contrast.

Local hero and six-time winner Niall Maguire heads a capacity entry for Sunday’s Monaghan Rally that includes a 30k stage as part of a three-stage loop.

Entering the final stage of the opening leg of the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally, the third round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Finnish driver, Juho Hanninen (Skoda Fabia S2000) led Norwegian, Andreas Mikkelsen, also in a Skoda, by just six 10ths of a second behind.

THE Bantry-based Westlodge Hotel Fastnet Rally brings the Dunlop National Rally Championship to a fitting finale on Sunday with a cracking entry featuring no fewer than seven World Rally Cars in a quality line-up.

WITH an unbeaten record in the current Dunlop National Rally Championship, Tim McNulty, can clinch his first major title on Sunday’s eighth round of the series in Clare although he will need a little help from his rivals.

REVIVED just three years ago, tomorrow’s Tyre Stop Kerry Rallysprint has already found a perfect niche in the motorsport calendar.

WITH little room for error, Tim McNulty (Subaru WRC) and co-driver, Paul Kiely were pushed all through the Hotel Kilmore Cavan Rally before claiming their fourth successive victory in the Dunlop National Rally Championship.

EVEN though he had to replace the power steering pump on three separate occasions, Meath’s, Tim McNulty (Subaru WRC) maintained his unbeaten sequence in the Dunlop National Rally Championship.

SOME of the most renowned stages in Irish rallying, like Moll’s Gap, Caragh Lake and those in the Béara Peninsula, are the principal reason Tim McNulty opted to compete in this weekend’s Cartell.ie Killarney International Rally of the Lakes, the third round of the Irish Tarmac Championship, instead of last week’s Circuit of Ireland Rally.