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Kerry visit for rare Bugatti cars worth €50m
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The Bugatti Owner’s Club (BOC) chose Ireland as the location for its annual international meeting this year, and almost 100 cars from all over the world spent the last week touring the Wild Atlantic Way.
The cars, manufactured by the legendary French firm, were all manufactured before 1950, and according to Irish organisers the cheapest car was valued at just under €500,000.
Each year the BOC organises an international meeting were club members spend a week on location, and the daytime road trips are followed by a packed evening social calendar.
The club arrived in Killarney on Tuesday last and left on Monday this week after block booking the exclusive Dunloe Hotel & Gardens near Beaufort.
A packed itinerary meant the visitors got a chance to drive some of the best driving roads in Kerry and Cork, including stints on Slea Head, Conor Pass, the Healy Pass and the Ring of Kerry.
Members of Killarney and District Motor Club were on hand to marshal the route and to organise things on this side.
BOC members Alex and Brenda Hobbs are no strangers to Killarney. They were members of the Oxford University Motor Club team of travelling doctors who used to supply medical cover for the Rally of the Lakes – a tradition that dates back to 1980.
They approached Mike Marshall, the first ever Rally of the Lakes Clerk of the Course, and he set about creating a route and organising local motoring based activities for the international crews.
“This is a one off event for Killarney,” Mike told the Killarney Advertiser. “The club was in Switzerland last year and will be going to Belgium next year. This international meeting is pre-planned until 2025.”
The 40 year friendship between the Killarney man and the UK-based doctors was a key part in Killarney securing this prestigious event.
Mike visited an event at the Prescott Hillclimb venue, home of BOC, near Cheltenham about two years ago.
“This was two years in the making,” added Mike. “I met Alex and Brenda on a visit to Prescott and it was suggested at that time to find roads in Ireland suitable for this event.”
Mike recruited several other Killarney and District Motor Club members and local classic car enthusiasts to help pull off an incredible week-long motoring extravaganza.
They included Darren McCormick, Historic Rally Clerk of the Course, and classic motorsport competitor Mike Buckley, who went ahead of the convoy and erected directional arrows.
KDMC Club Safety Officer, Pat Healy, followed the cars in a recovery unit while Sean Hurley (Glengarriff) and Paul O’Shea (Killarney) helped on a more localised basis.
Local Bugatti enthusiast Mervyn Scott was also involved.
“I met Mervyn by accident one day on a train to Dublin,” Mike said. “We started to talk about Bugattis and he said he just had to be involved.”
Participants arrived from all over the world for the event, including two cars from Japan and one from French Polynesia. The majority came from France, Switzerland, Italy, Holland and USA.
“They loved the mountain roads like the Healy Pass and the Conor Pass. And almost every day we met other clubs, like a Porsche club from Germany and an Austin Healy club from Britain, who were out following much the same route as us.”
The last point is something Mike would like to explore further.
“There is no end to the amount of car clubs out there, especially in England,” he said. “There are over 40 hotels in Killarney, one to suit very budget, and we have the best driving roads in Europe. We have the product: The Wild Atlantic Way.”
News
Noel O’Sullivan returns to European Rally Championship
Noel O’Sullivan returns to European Rally Championship
O’Sullivan returns to European Rally Championship
Muckross co-driver Noel O’Sullivan is set for a busy season as he returns to the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) while also preparing for a record-breaking attempt on home soil.
O’Sullivan and driver Callum Devine have signed with the Swedish team JC Raceteknik for a full campaign focused on asphalt events. Their season begins this week at the Andalusia Rally – Sierra Morena in Spain. O’Sullivan remains the only Killarney-based co-driver competing at this level for a full season.
He brings significant international experience to the team, having previously worked with WRC driver Jon Armstrong during his early European outings. O’Sullivan and Devine recently proved their pace against top European crews with a fifth-place finish at the 2024 Rali Ceredigion in Wales.
Devine said:
“I’m really looking forward to coming back to the ERC. It’s always great for a driver to compete against Europe’s best on some iconic events. We’ve had great success back home in Ireland over the past few seasons, winning two Irish Tarmac Rally Championships, and we feel now is the right time to come back and take on some ERC events. Starting with Rally Sierra Morena, I’m delighted to be joining JC Raceteknik. I know they are a very professional team with a wealth of experience, and I’m looking forward to working closely with them.”
The European schedule will not interfere with O’Sullivan’s local plans. Following the rally in Spain, the pair will return to Kerry for the Rally of the Lakes over the May Bank Holiday weekend. They are aiming for a fifth consecutive victory in Killarney as they look to move back into the lead of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.
The move to the European stage follows a successful week for O’Sullivan, who was recently named the International Motorsport winner at the Kerry Sports Star Awards.
Classic Tour set to celebrate heritage roads in June
A new heritage motoring event, the Killarney Classic Tour, has been confirmed for June 26–27, 2026. The two-day tour is designed to celebrate the iconic rally stages of Kerry and the Beara Peninsula.
Headquartered at the Gleneagle Hotel, the event is non-competitive and open to a wide range of vintage and historic cars. Organisers are placing a particular focus on period-correct rally cars and recreations that reflect the history of the Circuit of Ireland, the Circuit of Munster, and the early years of the Rally of the Lakes.
The tour is the work of two well-known figures in Irish rallying, Mike Marshall and Micheal O’Mahoney. Marshall, a founding member of the Rally of the Lakes and Clerk of the Course for over 20 years, has designed a route that allows drivers to experience famous stages like Moll’s Gap at a relaxed pace. O’Mahoney, a long-term supporter of the sport through Rentokil and a historic car owner himself, joins Marshall in the venture.
Co-Founder O’Mahoney said:
“This event is about bringing people back together – the cars, the stories, and the friendships that have always been part of rallying. It’s a chance to step away from competition and simply enjoy these roads.”
The Saturday itinerary includes a lunch stop in Castletownbere before the field returns to Killarney for a gala dinner at the Gleneagle Hotel. The evening will feature guest speakers and a focus on the shared history of the sport.
“This event is about bringing people back together — the cars, the stories, and the friendships,” added Micheal O’Mahoney.
Registrations are now open at www.KillarneyClassicTour.ie.
Noel O’Sullivan returns to European Rally Championship
Noel O’Sullivan returns to European Rally Championship
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