The Ronnie Hawe Four Seasons Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally made its eagerly awaited return on Sunday, 2nd August 2026, bringing another fantastic day of Irish rallying to the roads of North County Monaghan.
Originally scheduled for April, the event was rescheduled to the August Bank Holiday weekend and the wait proved worthwhile, with a superb entry taking on nine demanding special stages around Monaghan.
At the end of the day’s action, it was Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes who stood on the top step of the podium, taking an impressive start-to-finish victory in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
For Hugh’s Rallying, it was another brilliant opportunity to get out among the stages, competitors and supporters and experience one of Ireland’s best-loved national rallies.
Organised by County Monaghan Motor Club, the rally was based at the Four Seasons Hotel in Monaghan Town, which once again provided Rally HQ and hosted the celebrations at the finish.
The event consisted of three stages tackled three times, producing nine competitive tests and plenty of action throughout the day.
The rally attracted an excellent field featuring Rally2 machinery, some of Ireland’s quickest modified cars, Historic competitors, Juniors and competitors in the Dacia Sandero Challenge.
The importance of the rally also extended well beyond the stages. County Monaghan Motor Club estimated that the event could be worth in the region of €5 million to the local economy, with spectators, competitors and teams descending on Monaghan Town and the surrounding area for the weekend.
There was no stopping Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes.
Starting as car number one in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, the pair delivered a controlled performance across the nine stages to take the overall victory in a total time of 51:48.9.
The result marked an impressive third consecutive Monaghan Stages Rally victory for Josh, following his wins in 2022 and 2024.
It was another demonstration of the speed and consistency that have made Moffett one of the leading names in Irish rallying.
Behind them came another very familiar name.
Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly produced a strong performance in their Škoda Fabia to secure second overall.
They finished the rally in 52:08.6, just 19.7 seconds behind Josh and Andy, giving the Moffett family an impressive one-two finish on home soil.
Donegal’s Kevin Eves and Chris Melly completed the podium in their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, finishing only 29.3 seconds away from the winning time.
Shane Quinn and Stephen Reynolds brought their Ford Fiesta Rally2 home fourth overall. The pair had been running in third before a puncture on SS3 dropped them down the order, but they fought back strongly during the remainder of the event.
Tommy Doyle and Liam Moynihan completed the overall top five in their Hyundai Rally2.
| Pos. | Driver / Co-driver | Car | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Moffett / Andy Hayes | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | 51:48.9 |
| 2 | Sam Moffett / James O’Reilly | Škoda Fabia | 52:08.6 |
| 3 | Kevin Eves / Chris Melly | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | 52:18.2 |
| 4 | Shane Quinn / Stephen Reynolds | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | 52:58.8 |
| 5 | Tommy Doyle / Liam Moynihan | Hyundai Rally2 | 53:15.3 |
| 6 | Gary McPhillips / Ger Conway | Ford Escort | 53:50.7 |
| 7 | Dessie Keenan / Jason McKenna | Ford Escort Mk2 | 54:02.2 |
| 8 | Aidan Wray / Paddy McCrudden | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | 54:09.0 |
| 9 | Daniel McKenna / Ronan O’Neill | Ford Escort Mk2 | 54:19.5 |
| 10 | Daniel Cronin / Padraig O’Donovan | Toyota Yaris | 54:37.4 |
As always in Monaghan, the battle among the modified machinery provided plenty of entertainment.
Gary McPhillips and Ger Conway led the way in their Ford Escort, producing a brilliant drive to finish sixth overall and claim the modified victory.
They certainly didn’t have things all their own way.
Dessie Keenan and Jason McKenna were only 11.5 seconds behind in another Escort Mk2, finishing seventh overall.
Daniel McKenna and Ronan O’Neill made it three Escorts inside the overall top nine, underlining once again just how competitive — and spectacular — the modified field was in Monaghan.
There was plenty happening further down the field too.
In the Historic category, victory went to Michael McDaid and Peter Ward in their Ford BDA with a total time of 1:01:03.2.
They were followed by Noel Doyne and Sean OG Doyne in their Ford Escort, while Brendan McAree and Kevin Treanor completed the Historic top three in their Porsche 911.
The Junior category was won by Jamie Jervis and Ryan Kennedy in their Honda Civic.
They finished 30 seconds ahead of fellow Civic crew Colin Maguire and Stephen McElroy, with Calvin Scott and Sean Boyle completing the Junior podium.
The Monaghan Stages Rally has always been about much more than the final timesheets.
Events of this size simply don’t happen without an enormous amount of work behind the scenes.
From County Monaghan Motor Club and Clerk of the Course Thomas Treanor, to the marshals, stage commanders, timekeepers, officials, residents, landowners, emergency services, sponsors and volunteers, a huge team of people worked to make the rescheduled event possible.
The Four Seasons Hotel once again played a central role in the rally, continuing its support of the event and providing the headquarters for one of County Monaghan’s biggest annual sporting occasions.
A special mention also has to go to Clare Motor Club, which facilitated the rescheduled Monaghan event by moving its own Mini-Stages Rally amid an extremely busy motorsport calendar.
It was a great example of the cooperation that exists within the Irish rallying community.
For Hugh’s Rallying, Monaghan was another great event to experience and cover.
There is something special about being out on the stages — seeing the cars at full commitment, meeting competitors and rally fans and getting a chance to capture some of the atmosphere that makes Irish rallying what it is.
A massive thank you goes to everyone who continues to follow and support Hugh’s Rallying, whether that’s through the website, social media, photos, videos or saying hello at the rallies.
Most importantly, thank you to all of Hugh’s sponsors. Their continued support helps make it possible for Hugh to attend events around the country, produce rally content and continue building Hugh’s Rallying.
Congratulations to Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes on a superb victory and to every crew that reached the finish of the 2026 Ronnie Hawe Four Seasons Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally.
A Moffett one-two, an incredibly competitive modified battle and nine stages of Monaghan rallying made it a Bank Holiday Sunday to remember.
We’ll see you on the stages again soon!
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