The local crew of Liam McCarthy/Kieran Murphy (Toyota Corolla WRC) won the Fastnet Rally for a third time following their 55-second victory on the West Cork Hotel sponsored and Skibbereen based seven stage rally today.

Newly crowned Dunlop National Rally champions, Patrick Elliott and Paul Goodman (Subaru) have won the Ardara based Donegal Harvest Rally, the final round of the national series.

WHAT began as a relatively low profile season for Alan Ring has ended up in a hectic end of season finale that has the former Kerry circuit racer chasing success on three different championships fronts.

Three years after winning the Dunlop National Rally Championship, Kilkenny’s, Ray Breen (Ford Focus WRC) has won the Hankook Tyres Irish Forestry Championship.

MOTORSPORT Ireland have stepped up their involvement in Rally Ireland and will actually promote the 2009 event that will kick start the World Rally Championship in late January. However, funding for the event has yet to be put in place.

Shaun Gallagher and Paul Kiely are placed fourth after the first stage of Rally Jordan yesterday.

Former national rally champion, Ray Breen, co-driven by his son, Craig, in their Ford Focus WRC, won the Carrick-on-Suir based Willie Loughman forest rally, the second round of the Hankook Tyres National Forest Championship.

Citroen's Sebastien Loeb will go into the final day of the Rally Catalunya holding a comfortable lead.

THE body of a deep sea diver, reported missing on Tuesday evening, was recovered off the coast of Malin Head, Co Donegal, yesterday morning.

Divers today recovered the body of a father of four who died during the underwater filming of a sunken Nazi U-Boat in treacherous waters.

A father-of-two beaten to death in front of his family may have been involved in an argument hours earlier at a family wedding, a priest said today.

IRISH driver, Shaun Gallagher picked up the final championship point on his debut in the Junior World Rally Championship that begun in Rally Norway at the weekend.

Armagh’s Andrew Nesbitt drove into the record books with a fifth victory in the Shell Donegal International Rally in Letterkenny today.

It was a day of changing fortunes for the competitors in the Letterkenny-based Shell Donegal International Rally, the fourth round of the Pirelli Irish Tarmac Championship.

THE Irish bid to host a round of the World Rally Championship will be further scrutinised today at the World Rally Commission meeting at FIA headquarters in Paris.

Rally Ireland has been won by Eugene Donnelly and Paul Kiely.

POSTERS for a controversial play about the Irish Famine have been branded as “blasphemous and an insult to the Irish people”.

WITH their home event just a week away, Irish drivers, Colin Turkington and Gavin Smith will be hoping to improve their current positions within the British Touring Car Championship in Sunday’s three rounds at Croft.

Derry driver Eugene Donnelly and co-driver Paul Kiely have won the Shell Donegal International Rally for the second year in succession.

Setting the pace on the opening stage, Andrew Nesbitt in his ADL backed Subaru led throughout the opening leg of the Shell Donegal International Rally.

WITH three different leaders after each of the opening three rounds, the Dunlop National Rally Championship is shaping up to be an intriguing contest.

Cork-born driver, Donie O’Sullivan and his Kerry co-driver, Paul Nagle (Ford Focus WRC) finished the best of the Irish trio in Rally Catalunya, the penultimate round of the World Rally Championship that was won by Ford ace, Markko Martin.

Despite what he described as two very big moments on Stage 13, gallan Bridge, near Newtownstewart, Derek McGarrity retains control of the Buy & Sell Circuit of Ireland Rally.

Starting just as he did yesterday, Derek McGarrity and co-driver, Derek O’Gorman in their Subaru WRC, set the pace on the opening stage of today’s second leg of the Buy & Sell Circuit of Ireland Rally.

It was a good day for Irish drivers in the Bournemouth based Rallye Sunseeker, the opening round of the Kumho National Rally Championship.

Armagh’s Andrew Nesbitt and his Cork co-driver, James O’Brien are gearing up for the Swedish rally, the second round of the World Rally Championship.

Britain's Steve Perez won the Killarney Historic Rally by over a minute in his Porsche 911 from the similar Porsche 911 of defending champion, Dessie Nutt.

BASED on previous performances, Dessie Nutt is the obvious favourite in Sunday’s Killarney Historic Rally.

Cork City 1 Drogheda United 0

THE MICHELIN Race of Champions motorsport spectacular in Gran Canaria, in its 16th year, will have its usual and exciting head-to-head Race of Champions as well as the fifth running of the ROC Nations Cup team competition.

NOT content to rest on his laurels, Eugene Donnelly has already completed a deal that will see the 36-year-old Derry ace drive a Toyota Corolla WRC in next season’s Irish Tarmac Championship.

Finland’s, Tapio Laukkanen was never headed throughout today’s six stages of the second and final day of the Trackrod Rally in Yorkshire.

At the end of the first leg of the Trackrod Rally, Finland's Tapio Laukkanen, on board his Subaru WRC has a slim 5.9 second lead over fellow countryman and teenage sensation, Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Focus WRC).

Finnish driver, Tapio Laukkanen and Jari-Matti Latvala occupy the top two places in the Trackrod Rally in the Yorkshire forests as Ireland’s, Austin MacHale and co-driver, Brain Murphy maintain fourth place.

Flying Finn, Tapio Laukkanen, leads the Trackrod Rally in Yorkshire where Dubliner, Austin MacHale (Subaru WRC) is fourth after the opening three stages.

Finland’s, Tapio Laukkanen in a Subaru, has a lead of one minute and 31 seconds with just one stage remaining in the Answercall Direct Ulster Rally, a counting round of both the Toshiba Computers Irish Tarmac and Pirelli British Championships.

Finland’s, Tapio Laukkanen in a Subaru leads the Answercall Direct Ulster Rally after twelve of the 16 stages.

A display of total domination through the six stages has seen Armagh’s, Andrew Nesbitt finish the first leg of the AnswerCall Direct Ulster Rally with a commanding lead of one minute and 27.9 seconds.

Drogheda United 3 Waterford United 0

Belfast Lord Mayor Martin Morgan was today facing a knife-edge vote over his decision to boycott events involving a British government minister.

Belfast’s Lord Mayor, Martin Morgan, today looked like losing a city council vote over his decision to boycott meetings with a British Government minister.

Belfast’s nationalist Lord Mayor was today facing a censure motion against him, following his boycott of events involving a British government minister.

The SDLP mayors of Belfast and Derry have announced plans to boycott events involving a Northern Ireland government minister.