Gallagher and Kerry co-driver McCarthy head Baltinglass Mini Stages entry list
Donegal driver Declan Gallagher and his Kerry co-driver John McCarthy are the top seeds for Sunday’s Germaine’s Hotel Baltinglass Mini Stages Rally, which has attracted a capacity field of 140 crews, plus a sizable reserve list. As the winners of the Garda Síochána Motor Club organised event on the most recent occasion it ran in 2024, Gallagher and McCarthy will display number one on the doors of their Toyota Starlet. They will be looking over their shoulders at a formidable line-up in their wake, with any number of potential victors among the top ten crews and beyond.
First of the challengers will be Johno Doogan and Paul Lennon in a Ford Escort RS. The Monaghan-Cavan duo have taken podium finishes on mini stages rallies in Cork, Kerry, and Limerick, as well as on the Kerry Winter Rally over the past couple of years, and a first outright victory appears to be imminent. The number three seeds, Christopher O’Callaghan and fellow Limerick man Niall Sheehan, have shown considerable pace in recent times. O’Callaghan took overall wins on the Escort Rally Special and B-Short de Momignies in Belgium, second in class on the Donegal International this year, and a second place overall finish on the Kerry Mini Stages in July, having previously finished third in Baltinglass in 2024.
The top ten is filled with Escort-equipped crews, all of whom can be expected to challenge for victory. Monaghan men Michael Carbin and Conor Mohan finished third in a packed class on the West Cork Rally earlier this year. The all-Clare crew of Padraig Egan and Tomas Ryan took a remarkable third overall on the National Championship counting Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally last month. Conor Murphy and Sean Collins from Kerry have undoubted pace: they finished second overall in Baltinglass in 2022, took a similar result on the Escort Rally Special this year, and picked up a second in class finish on the Circuit of Munster in June.
Seeded at number seven, Philip Allen comes into the event lined up alongside Kaine Treanor in what will be their first outing together. Allen is normally seen in four-wheel-drive Rally2 machinery on European Championship rounds, making his progress in an old-school rear-wheel-drive Escort a key talking point for the weekend. A third overall finish on this year’s Donegal International in a Toyota GR Yaris highlights his capability across varied machinery.
David Condell has been a Baltinglass regular over the years, often featuring in the top ten. His record includes outright victories on his home rally in Carlow and the Imokilly Mini Stages in Cork. His co-driver on Sunday will be Meabh Griffin from Cork. Meathman Michael Cahill and his Monaghan co-driver Killian McArdle took a class win on the Galway International at the start of the season. Brian Lavelle is a former class winner in Baltinglass, as well as on the Mayo Rally at the beginning of March, and on the Wexford, Galway International, Donegal Harvest, Donegal International, Cavan, Midland, and Circuit of Kerry rallies in previous years across a variety of machinery. The Mayo driver will have Roscommon’s Jack Kelly alongside.
Outside of the top ten, the quality of the entry remains strong. Former winner Chris Armstrong is seeded at number 12 in his Escort, while Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Craig Rahill is at number 14 in a Ford Fiesta Rally3. Also on the start list is motorcycle road racing legend Michael Dunlop, holder of a record 36 Isle of Man TT wins, who has chosen the Baltinglass event for one of his occasional rally outings.
The proximity of the GSMC Mini Stages to the prestigious Killarney Historic Stages Rally at the end of this month has seen 18 crews in historic cars opt to use Baltinglass as a shakedown in advance of the trip to the south west. Seeded together from numbers 20 to 37, they will be headed by Welshman Melvyn Evans, the 2010 Motorsport Ireland National Rally Champion, debuting a fully rebuilt Subaru Impreza 555. Donegal’s Donagh Kelly, Irish Tarmac champion and National champion in 2015, will be next up in a BMW M3, followed by Waterford’s Ray Breen, National champion in 2005 and National Forestry champion in 2008, in a Toyota Corolla World Rally Car. Given the quality of the machinery and the calibre of drivers concerned, the overall event winner could well emerge from the historic classes.
The Garda Síochána Motor Club’s Germaine’s Hotel Baltinglass Mini Stages Rally will be the final round of the 2025-26 Hugo Loonam Motors Midlands East Rally Championship. This class-based series will be fought out between Tomas O’Rourke, who leads in his Class 20 Mitsubishi Lancer on 110 points, John Hayes in a Class 4 Ford Fiesta Rally3 on 109 points, and John O’Rourke (younger brother of Tomas and outgoing champion) who sits on 104 points in his Class 2 Opel Corsa. Andy Hayes has guided his brother John throughout the year and leads the co-driver standings, having already won the Irish Tarmac Championship and National Rally Championship with Josh Moffett.
Saturday afternoon will see technical scrutiny take place on Main Street in Baltinglass, giving families and supporters an opportunity to see the rally cars up close. The route on Sunday will consist of three loops of the Grangecon and Rustyduff stages, with the first getting under way at 9:30 am. Service will be held at the Lathaleer Industrial Estate in Baltinglass after the first and second loops. Victory celebrations are scheduled outside Germaine’s Hotel, Rally Headquarters, at 5:00 pm.
Germaine’s Hotel GSMC Mini Stages Rally 2026
Top Ten Seeds
Declan Gallagher / John McCarthy (Toyota Starlet)
Johno Doogan / Paul Lennon (Ford Escort RS)
Christopher O’Callaghan / Niall Sheehan (Ford Escort RS)
Michael Carbin / Conor Mohan (Ford Escort RS)
Padraig Egan / Tomas Ryan (Ford Escort RS)
Conor Murphy / Sean Collins (Ford Escort RS)
Philip Allen / Kaine Treanor (Ford Escort RS)
David Condell / Maebh Griffin (Ford Escort RS)
Michael Cahill / Killian McArdle (Ford Escort RS)
Brian Lavelle / Jack Kelly (Ford Escort RS)
Caption: Declan Gallagher and Kerry co-driver John McCarthy are the number one seeds for the Garda Síochána Motor Club’s Germaine’s Hotel Baltinglass Mini Stages Rally on Sunday. Photo: Kevin Shields Motorsport Photog
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