It’s an udderly mad charity event with the Moo Crew and Hallion Battalion just some of the crazy participants in this year’s Rusty Nuts Rally across NI.

The Rusty Nuts Rally is a charity car rally organised by Portadown native Kieran O’Neill who now lives in the Derrymacash area near Lurgan.

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Portadown native Kieran O'Neill who now lives near Lurgan, Co Armagh has organised the Rusty Nuts Rally, a madcap bunch of car enthusiasts and not who have pimped up old vehicles into extraordinary machines and will be travelling across NI for a fun 2-day event.

placeholder image — Portadown native Kieran O'Neill who now lives near Lurgan, Co Armagh has organised the Rusty Nuts Rally, a madcap bunch of car enthusiasts and not who have pimped up old vehicles into extraordinary machines and will be travelling across NI for a fun 2-day event.

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HGV driver Kieran wanted to raise vital funds for Cancer Focus Northern Ireland and this rally tries to fit in as many of their charity shops across NI as possible starting at The Boulevard in Banbridge on May 1.

Kieran revealed: “The concept is simple – teams buy cheap cars, decorate them with fun themes, dress up, and take part in a series of photo challenges while following a planned driving route across NI.”

The rally will take place over a full weekend and includes organised stops and activities such as Eddie Irvine Sports and Todd’s Leap, giving teams a chance to take part in different experiences while raising money for charity.

"The aim of the event is to bring people together for a fun and memorable weekend while raising vital funds for Cancer Focus NI and the important work they do supporting people affected by cancer,” said Kieran.

"Teams will also compete for several trophies including best themed car, best dressed team, and the team that raises the most money.

“I really hope the rally event will make a real difference for the charity as it's done in previous years,” he said who so far has raised a whopping £84k in the last four years.

The Co Armagh man revealed he started the rally because ‘I couldn’t find an event like it in the north’.

"The idea was to keep it budget friendly, any event similar meant hopping onto a boat to the mainland or further afield. I started Rusty Nuts Rally in 2014 and between then and 2019 the event ran 4 out of those 5 years.

"The dreaded COVID hit and put a stop to the event. Everything became too expensive but there seemed to be a demand for it recently with a few people asking me to run the event again. Places filled out in no time at all!

"To me Cancer Focus Northern Ireland was making use of the money that local people raised for local people and I felt it was a better fit for the event.

"I think in the 4 years the event ran it has raised somewhere in the region of £84k! “ said Kieran.

Taking part in the rally this year are:

The Moo Crew (all-female team)

MAD CRAIC MAX (Mad Max themed)

The Blues Brothers (returning team)

The Queen Bees (all-female team)

Stuttgart Wrecking Crew

Patina Patrol

The Jimmy Differs

Hallion Battalion

Burt Renaults

Dog Power

The route: It starts at The Boulevard, Banbridge with cars arriving at 8am. Then going through Lisburn to Lisburn Road, Belfast, Ormeau Road and Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast. It then travels to Holywood, Newtownards, Eddie Irvine Sports centre, Glenarm and Ballintoy Harbour on Day One.

On Day Two the rally will travel from Ballintoy Harbour towards Portrush, Coleraine, Castlerock, Bellarena Fuels Ltd, Limavady, Londonderry, Omagh, Enniskillen and finally Todds Leap near Dungannon.