What the 1996 Circuit of Ireland lacked in quantity in certainly made up for in quality with the winners from the previous three Circuits, Austin McHale, Stephen Finlay and Bertie Fisher in attendance, as well as rising stars like Liam O’Callaghan, Andrew Nesbitt and Ian Greer, all in four wheel drive Group A machinery. Fisher and Finlay set the pace at the front but Fisher’s event was beset by a number of uncharacteristic errors, the final of which dropped him to fourth place. After four days of rallying it was Finlay who would emerge victorious taking his second win on the event in three years.