Niall McGonigle wins 2026 Fivemiletown Spring Rally after Donnelly stage-two exit
Niall McGonigle and co-driver Caolan McKenna won the Samsonas Fivemiletown Spring Rally on Saturday 28 February 2026, reclaiming an event they had previously won in 2024. The County Tyrone forest rally was the opening round of the Northern Ireland Gravel Rally Challenge. The result turned on a significant early moment: Mark Donnelly and Martin Brady had led by four seconds after the first stage before damaging a wheel and going out of contention on the second.
From defending winners to an open fight
Donnelly and Brady, the defending Fivemiletown winners, headed the entry list in a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5. Their early stage-one lead appeared to put them in a strong position, but a slide off the road on the third corner of the second test ended the attempt to defend the crown. McGonigle moved ahead as the leading opposition changed. This is more significant than saying the eventual winner had been fastest all day, because the opening stage was won by another crew.
The second-stage turning point
The Crocknagrally stage was central to the change of order. Derek Mackarel matched McGonigle’s time on that test and briefly looked capable of turning the rally into a close contest, but mechanical problems then removed him from contention. McGonigle’s path to victory was therefore shaped both by his own pace and by the elimination of two serious rivals. His result should not be presented as uncontested simply because he ultimately built a gap.
Hamill takes second ahead of Condell
Vivian Hamill and Paddy Robinson rose to second after the third stage, Mullaghfad, and were 5.8 seconds behind McGonigle at that point. The gap eventually grew to 19.3 seconds at the finish. David Condell and Michael Coady took third in their Skoda Fabia, 20.6 seconds behind the runners-up according to contemporary reporting. Condell had shared a fastest stage time with McGonigle on stage three and repeatedly placed among the quickest crews, giving the podium a genuine competitive shape.
Why the winner had unfinished business
McGonigle had been closely involved in helping revive the event in 2019 and won it for the first time in 2024. In the later 2025 running he had missed the chance to defend his title after a stage-one gear-linkage problem. The 2026 win thus marked both a return to first place and a reversal of the mechanical frustration that had prevented the previous year’s attempt. That history provides a specific and relevant reason why reclaiming Fivemiletown mattered to the Strabane-area crew.
Championship and event context
Omagh Motor Club organised the rally around the Fivemiletown forests in County Tyrone, with revised tests and a competitive field that included Gareth Mimnagh, Mackarel, Hamill and Condell. The event counted towards the Northern Ireland Gravel Rally Challenge, placing the result at the start of the 2026 local forest season. There were later championship fixtures in Enniskillen and West Tyrone, so an opening success gave McGonigle a valuable platform but was not equivalent to clinching the overall series.
What the times support
The verifiable key figures are the four-second initial Donnelly lead, his stage-two exit, Hamill’s 5.8-second deficit after stage three, McGonigle’s final 19.3-second winning margin and Condell’s third-place finish. These establish a race with changes in leadership and a clear podium contest. A useful local rally report should follow that chronology and name the co-drivers, vehicles and stage, rather than substituting general descriptions of rough gravel roads for what actually happened on the Fivemiletown stages.
