Kingdom calling for Kilkenny Cat as Eddie Doherty lands maiden National victory in Tralee.
Kilkenny’s Eddie Doherty, alongside his Limerick co-driver Tom Murphy, took the top step on the podium yesterday at the 2025 Rose Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally in Tralee. It was a faultless drive from Doherty who led the rally from the first stage right through to the finish after a tricky days rallying in the heart of the Kingdom.
The Kilkenny/Limerick pairing held a 6-second lead after the opening 3 stages of the day through Camp Mountain, Minard Castle and Flemingstown as they headed back to morning service in MTU Kerry. Second was reigning champion Josh Moffett in the Citroen C3 with Rob Barrable rounding out the top 3 after the opening loop. Desi Henry’s rally came to an end on the Flemingstown stage, he was sitting in 3rd overall but crashed out of the event at this early juncture.
With rain threatening, tyre choice was the topic of discussion across the day, with the road getting damp and early dirt thrown onto the roads turned to slippery mud throughout the middle loop of 3 stages. Over the next three tests, Doherty stretched his lead to just over 16 seconds from Josh Moffett. Rob Barrable continued to hold 3rd position but had one eye in the rearview mirror with Declan Boyle and Sam Moffett just 12 or so seconds off the pace as the crews made their way back to MTU Kerry for the final service halt of the day.
But fuel pressure issues for Josh Moffett on the road section out to stage 7 saw an end to his charge for two wins on the bounce in the Championship and the defence of his Rose Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally came to an end just outside Blennerville. It was almost cruise control for Doherty in the end, who held a lead of over 30 seconds to Barrable. A lead that in the end was 27.3 seconds and there were jubilant scenes at the finish line when he roared his Skoda Fabia back into the Rose Hotel. Rob Barrable came home in second place with Sam Moffett and Kerry man Shane Buckley rounding out the podium places. The Killarney man was home from London for the event; it was fantastic to see the Kingdom represented on the final podium.
Speaking at the finish ramp, 2025 winner Eddie Doherty said, “I’m absolutely delighted, I really enjoyed it and I’m just speechless. All the people around here, family, friends, gravel crew, fitness people; it really is amazing for all of us. I’ve been a long time thinking about this moment since I was 8 or 9 years of age and starting out karting and now I can finally say I have a National win, I couldn’t be happier really. Hopefully, there will be many more!”
Modified honours went back to Donegal as Kevin Gallagher took the top spot here and finished a respectable 8thoverall in the Darrian T90 GTR. Barry Morris, also in a Darrian, finished in second with Chris Armstrong in the Ford Escort Mark II rounding out the modified podium.
Aidan Long and Anthony O’Sullivan guided their BMW M3 home to win the Historic category while Shane McHugh and Brian Donnelly landed Junior rally honours in their Honda Civic.
New for 2025 is the Dacia Sandero Challenge Trophy which was won by Jack Newman and Jeff Case, their first time behind the wheel of the Sandero. It’s a new initiative with Dacia and Motorsport Ireland which offers competitors of all ages a chance to enter the sport at a budget-friendly level.
Top 10 Overall
1. Eddie Doherty/Tom Murphy – Skoda Fabia
2. Rob Barrable/Gordon Noble – Skoda Fabia Rally2 +0:27.3
3. Sam Moffett/Shane Buckley – Hyundai Rally 2 +0:37.1
4. Declan Boyle/Patrick Walsh – Skoda Fabia Rally2 +0:46.9
5. Gary Kiernan/John McGrath – Ford Fiesta +1:07.3
6. Daniel Cronin/Donncadh Burke – Citroen C3 +1:23.8
7. Paul Barrett/Darragh Kelly – Citroen C3 +1:38.9
8. Kevin Gallagher/Ryan Moore – Darrian T90 +2:22.6
9. Brendan Cummiskey/Martin Connolly – VW Polo +2:31.7
10. Matthew Boyle/Gary Byrne – Ford Fiesta +3:01.6
Kerry Motorsport News 