Manus Kelly and Donall Barrett have been crowned the 2017 Donegal Sports Stars of the Year.
Glenswilly’s Kelly and Milford’s Barrett won their second Donegal International Rally title in a row back in June and are the winners of the overall award following the 42nd Donegal Sports Star Awards function tonight at the Mount Errigal Hotel.
There has been 24 different winners since the Donegal rally began in 1972, however the list of back-to-back winners is very exclusive, with only the best of the best being included.
The list includes Cahal Curley, John Lyons, Billy Coleman, Bertie Fisher, Andrew Nesbitt, Eugene Donnelly, Gareth McHale, and now Manus Kelly and Donall Barrett.
In the Melvyn Evans-hired WRC Impreza, Kelly and Barrett won after a dramatic and intense battle with Frosses’ Donagh Kelly.
In 2016, in their first year in the international field, Manus Kelly and Barrett won a heart-stopping crown when they edged Keith Cronin by half a second.
It has been a pulsating couple of years for the Glenswilly-Milford duo, who won the National Rally in a MK 2 Escort in 2015.
The shortlist for the overall award included Amber Barrett; Chloe and Sam Magee; Manus Kelly and Donall Barrett; Mona McSharry; Nora Stapleton; and Rhys Irwin
FOR A FULL LIST OF WINNERS SEE HERE: http://www.donegalsporthub.com/live-updates-2017-donegal-sports-star-awards/
