CO DONEGAL, Ireland - All roads lead to Donegal for the annual Donegal International Rally, which takes place this weekend, Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd June, 2025.

The Donegal International Rally is known as one of the toughest rally car challenges in Ireland. The Donegal Rally consists of 3 adrenalin pumping days of spectacular rally car driving from the fabled Knockalla Coast Road to the lush green farm lands of Carnhill to the wide open bog land landscape of Glen.

The Donegal Rally also counts as one full round of the annual Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. Attracting huge crowds of over 70,000 spectators and close to 400,000 viewers on television and online makes the Donegal Rally one of the most popular in Europe. Being the only three-day tarmac rally in Ireland and the UK, the Donegal International Rally attracts the best Irish, British and International drivers from around the globe every year.

Supporters are being urged to ‘Keep the Race in Its Place' and drive responsibly and carefully over the weekend.

Gardai's advice in relation to traffic management and safety is:
• Plan your journey and arrive in plenty of time as there will be road closures over the weekend and high volumes of traffic are anticipated. This may also affect public transport.
• Follow advice and guidance from Gardaí and race marshals
• Remember to belt up, put the mobile phone away and never ever drink or take drugs and drive.
• Watch the rally from the designated safe viewing areas

On Wednesday An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland jointly launched their Cross-Border Traffic Management Plan for the event.

Additional resources will be in place to ensure the safety of people attending the rally and visiting Donegal over the weekend.

This includes increased checkpoints, high-visibility patrols and additional marked and unmarked vehicles, Garda motorcyclists, the Garda Air Support Unit.

An Garda Síochána will be working in partnership with our colleagues in the PSNI where we will be out in force this weekend promoting road safety on both sides of the border," Chief Superintendent Goretti Sheridan of the Donegal Garda Division said at Wednesday's launch. T"he Donegal International Rally is a major event which attracts thousands of visitors to our county. We are calling on all road users and rally fans to enjoy the event responsibly and to prioritise road safety above all else."

"Our appeal is simple: Keep the Race in its Place. An Garda Síochána will have a highly visible presence across the county over the weekend, with checkpoints, speed enforcement, and patrols targeting dangerous driving, drink and drug driving, speeding, mobile phone and seat belt offences. Reckless and irresponsible driving on public roads will not be tolerated. Our focus is on keeping people safe."

PSNI Chief Inspector for Derry City & Strabane, Cherith Craig, added: "We know the roads will be busier than usual this weekend due to the Donegal International Rally, which is a huge motorsports event and attracts massive numbers of spectators. With the expected increase in cross-border traffic from people travelling to and from the event, we'll be working in partnership with our colleagues in An Garda Síochána, focusing on road safety."

"You'll see our officers on patrol conducting checks to ensure everyone on the road is legal, that their vehicles are roadworthy and that everyone is playing their part in keeping our roads safe," Craig said.

"We all share the responsibility of road safety and to work together to reduce the number of people injured or killed on our roads. Our plea is to slow down, stay safe and have an enjoyable weekend. Remember the fatal five - don't drink or drug-drive, slow down, don't get careless, wear your seat belt and stay off your phone." 

Following are details of the Road closures:

• L-1004 Port Road from 4:15pm to 9:00pm on Thursday 19th June for the ceremonial start.

• Cullion Road from 2pm on Friday 20th to 2am on Saturday 21st; from 10am on Saturday 21st to 2am on Sunday 22nd and from 10am to 10pm on Sunday 22nd. This involves the closure of the L1094/2 Cullion Road in the townland of Drumnahoagh from the junction with the L1114/2&3 Leck Road to the junction with the N56/82 Four Lane Road. The diversion route will be via the L1114/2 (Leck Road), the N13/8 (Letterkenny Stranorlar Road) and the N56/82 (Four Lane Road).

• R-940-1 Ballyraine/Road/Ramelton Road closed on Sunday 22nd from 4:00pm to 8:30pm. Alternative route: N56 Ramelton Road – N56 Business Park Road – L1009 Gortlee Road.

• Carndonagh Relief Road from SuperValue junction to the L-12611 will be closed on Friday 20th from 9:30am to 7:00pm. Local access to shops and businesses will be maintained at all times. There will be local diversions via the R-240-1, L-1271 and L-12611-0.