Tadhg Callaghan Carter, 15, from Churchill Donegal died after being struck by Callum Devine’s rally car on Stage 12 Gartan at the 2026 Donegal International Rally. Full story here.
A 15-year-old boy went to watch his favourite sport on a Saturday afternoon in Donegal and never came home. Tadhg Callaghan Carter from Churchill was among the spectators gathered at Location 15 on Stage 12 of the 2026 Donegal International Rally when a rally car left the road and struck the crowd. He was rushed to Letterkenny University Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The entire rally was cancelled. Ireland is in mourning. Here is everything confirmed about the tragedy that ended the Donegal International Rally 2026.
The Moment Everything Changed on Stage 12 Gartan
At approximately 4:47 p.m. on Saturday during Special Stage 12 — Gartan 1 — at Trentagh near Kilmacrennan, the rally car of second-placed driver Callum Devine left the road.
The Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 belonging to Callum Devine landed awkwardly over a jump and struck some spectators gathered near a corner on the outside of the stage. The car struck a hedge where spectators had gathered at Location 15 on the stage.
Emergency services reacted immediately. Tadhg Callaghan Carter was rushed by ambulance to Letterkenny University Hospital. Two other spectators were also taken to Letterkenny University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Callum Devine and his co-driver Noel O’Sullivan were uninjured in the accident.
Tadhg Callaghan Carter was later pronounced deceased at Letterkenny University Hospital. He was 15 years old.
Who Was Tadhg Callaghan Carter
Tadhg Callaghan Carter was a 15-year-old boy from Churchill in County Donegal — a quiet rural community in the heart of Inishowen Peninsula country that has produced generations of rally fans.
He was in his mid-teens — a boy at a motorsport event on a Saturday afternoon, watching some of Ireland’s best drivers compete on the roads of his home county. He was exactly the kind of young rally fan that events like the Donegal International are built for and built around.
The local coroner was notified and a post-mortem examination was arranged. His death has left Churchill and the wider Donegal community devastated.
The Rally That Was Leading When Everything Stopped
Prior to the tragedy the 2026 Donegal International Rally had been one of the most competitive in recent years.
Five-time World Rally Championship event winner Kris Meeke driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 had led from the opening stage and ended Saturday morning with an 11.8 second lead over reigning Irish Tarmac champion Callum Devine. On Stage 11 Devine had cut that margin to 13.9 seconds setting up a dramatic final battle that never happened.
Third placed Josh McErlean in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 was also growing in confidence with encouraging times. It was shaping up to be one of the great Donegal Rally finishes.
Stage 12 ended all of it.
