One of Ireland's most spectacular sporting occasions, the Ordnance Survey Ireland Rally of the Lakes 2005, will take place around one of Ireland's most spectacular locations, Killarney, over the weekend of April 29th - May 1st.  The elite of this country's drivers will be joined by a number of strong contenders from abroad to decide the outcome of this prestigious event.Famous Irish rallying names such as Eugene Donnelly, Austin McHale, Eamonn Boland and last year's Rally of the Lakes winner, Derek McGarrity, are expected to be among the starting line-up.  Among the foreign drivers who have signalled their intention to compete is Belgium's Pieter Tsjoen, three times a champion in his home country.Gary McCormick has been appointed by the members of Killarney & District Motor Club as the Clerk of the Course for the Ordnance Survey Ireland Rally of the Lakes 2005.  An Engineering Officer with the Electricity Supply Board, Gary was for many years the Stage Commander on the best known and most popular stage in Irish rallying, Molls Gap.  That  position is now occupied by his daughter, Tanya.  Gary also served as the Clerk of the Course for the Killarney Historic Stages Rally in 1999 and 2000.Speaking of his plans for this year's Rally of the Lakes, Mr. McCormick revealed some details about the route.  "The rally will consist of sixteen special stages, eight on Saturday and eight on Sunday.  We will use the same format on both days, with a loop of four stages being repeated twice.  Most will be traditional Rally of the Lakes stages, but there will be one new stage which has never been rallied before.  The overall route is quite compact, and the entire rally will take place within a thirty mile radius of Killarney town."He also confirmed that the Friday evening Super Special stage at Killarney Racecourse, which proved so popular last year, will open the Rally of the Lakes weekend again in 2005.  "Whereas previously the Super Special was only a demonstration run by the drivers taking part in the Rally of the Lakes, it will be timed this year to one hundredth of a second.  It will provide a useful barometer for crews to compare their pace against that of their competitors before the rally proper gets underway".Liam Cronin will be the Deputy Clerk of the Course for the 2005 Rally of the Lakes, while Conor Falvey, Dermot Healy and Mike Marshall will serve as Assistant Clerks of the Course.  The 2004 COC, Noreen Marshall, returns to the role of Rally Secretary.The Ordnance Survey Ireland Rally of the Lakes 2005 will be a counting round of the Pirelli Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, the West Euro Cup and the 023 Tiles Southern Four Rally Championship.Following his victory on the Galway International Rally during February, Eugene Donnelly leads the Pirelli Irish Tarmac Rally Championship in his Toyota Corolla WRC.  Austin McHale (Ford Focus WRC03) and Derek McGarrity (Skoda Fabia WRC04) are  Donnelly's closest rivals in the championship going into the Circuit of Ireland at Easter, the second round of the series. Depending on the outcome of that event, the leaderboard may have a completely different complexion by the time the Tarmac chase arrives in Killarney.Sweden's Kent Persson leads the West Euro Cup after the opening round in Norway last month, the Peugeot 206 XS driver heading the standings with 121 points, while Denmark's Henrik Munk Hansen (Peugeot 106 S16) holds second place with 105 points.The 023 Tiles Southern Four Championship kicks off this weekend with the West Cork Rally.The Ordnance Survey Ireland Rally of the Lakes 2005 will again feature a Junior Rally for drivers under the age of 27 years.  They will join the other competitors for the final four stages of the event.  Killarney & District Motor Club was first in Ireland to introduce the concept of a Junior Rally, and the idea has since been widely adopted by many other clubs throughout the country.  The 2004 Junior Rally of the Lakes was won by James Stafford, driving a Vauxhall Nova.