All posts by:IRGmanagement

  • April 26, 2022

    Newsletter 4

    It’s looking like there will be some serious competition for honours in this year’s Shamrock. A perusal of the recent Flying Scotsman results reveals quite a few competitors who will be taking part in this year’s fray. Significantly, there is a high proportion of the “Top Ten” coming our way. Crews, Andrew & Philippa Bailey were sixth and Stuart & Emily Anderson were eighth. Drivers Paul Dyas and Peter Neumark were fourth and seventh – no pressure on Martyn Taylor and Nick Fry then! Also worthy of mention are David Thomson and Trina Harley who made impressions behind the wheel and on the maps, respectively and separately. Incidentally, it was good to see that inaugural Shamrock Vintage Challenge winner, John Abel is back in action again – he hasn’t lost his touch either.

    Peugeot Partner

    Anyway, on to matters more mundane – some barely relevant piffling minutiae which is supposed to whet your appetite but, I suspect, might be more effective as a soporific. I recently had the good fortune to accompany Mickey Gabbett on the final full run-through of the route in his trusty and, particularly well-suited for the task, Peugeot Partner. There were encouragingly few amendments to be made.

    One of our tasks was to mark the time points so as to facilitate their location by the marshals. Shy, retiring Mickey chose for this exercise a discreet fluorescent pink aerosol spray. While this has the advantage of being clearly visible to the officials, it can be misinterpreted. Indeed, one of “our” landowners brought the one outside his gate to the attention of the “Gardaí” fearing that his house had been marked as being worthy of the nefarious consideration of local “ne’er-do-wells”.

    Peat Bog

    A journey with Mickey can be very enlightening – in all sorts of ways! For instance, we were tootling along in the vicinity of Johnswell, Kilkenny when he pointed out a bare field which he had previously populated with sitka spruce in 1989. He had sold on the forest and he was delighted to see that another cycle of tree planting was about to start. Incidentally, the proceeds from this sale were used to purchase a “few acres” in Roscommon. Inadvertently included with the land that he had bought were the turbary rights to half an acre of bog quite a distance away. The error was rectified but I thought you would like to have “turbary” explained. Bogs come with turbary rights which were granted to the original owners of bogs in Ireland many years ago. Irrespective of the ownership of the land subsequently, these turbary rights remain with the original grantees. They permit the holders to cut the turf in the bog on the land, albeit for their own private use only. A quaint Irish anachronism.

    Spring oilseed rape

    We dropped in to Rob Coleman whose land we will be traversing during the event. Mickey had an interesting discussion with him about a field we had passed before we bumped into him. Mickey had noticed that spring oilseed rape had been planted and wondered why Rob had done so as Mickey thought that winter rape would be a better proposition. As it turned out, such has been the lack of rainfall over the last few months that conditions weren’t appropriate for the sowing of the winter variety so Rob was crossing his fingers and hoping for the best with his spring venture. We visited Tom Shine in Ballylegan, one of the test venues, and Mickey waxed lyrical about Tom’s innovate approach to making “farming” more viable. He has an extensive “mill and mix” operation which generates animal feed. He also has drying floors which remove the moisture from sawdust, bark and woodchip which renders them a much more saleable proposition.

    Another of Mickey’s interests is old buildings. The more castellar the better, though he eulogises about what looked to me like pretty run-down and derelict dwellings from the past almost as much as he does the more spectacular edifices. One of our hosts, John Cott, lives very close to the magnificent (Mickey’s opinion) Lohort Castle. It is one of those hidden gems which remain largely inaccessible to the general public. It is situated on the Castlelohort Demesne near Cecilstown in County Cork. and is an impressive five storey fortified tower with rounded corners, standing over 80 feet tall. The massive walls are 10 feet thick at the base, narrowing to six feet. Around the top storey there is a machicolated parapet that runs unbroken apart from a short section on the eastern side. There used to be a deep moat around the castle with a drawbridge. The castle grounds cover more than 100 acres. It was built around 1496 by Donogh Óg McDonagh McCarthy. The castle was taken by the Irish forces during the Civil War. One of the bloodiest battles of the English Civil War took place on the grounds of Lohort Castle in in 1647 when over 4,500 men were killed in battle. Lohort was bombarded by Oliver Cromwell’s troops in 1650 and captured, but the castle withstood the cannon fire due to the immense strength of its 10 foot thick walls. The castle as it now stands was rebuilt around 1750 by Sir John Percival, the Earl of Egmont, and the Percivals lived there until the 20th century when it was burned down by the IRA in 1922. Some of the fireplaces from nearby Kanturk Castle appear to have been relocated to Lohort Castle – this was probably done when Lohort Castle was restored in the 18th century.

    Doneraile Castle

    Along similar lines below is a picture of an archway into Doneraile Castle. It had been hoped that we might be able to drive through this arch and along some of the estate roads. However, such is the stagnancy generated by the multiple committees which run establishments like this, that we were unable so to do. In essence, the “authorities” worried that the arch might fall down as one of the cars was passing through it.

    As you approach the final test of the event you will be directed around the back of the imposing Churchtown House where you will stumble upon the skeleton of an unfinished 120-bed hotel. What a fantastic location – surely the developers amongst you will be eager to snap up a bargain!!!

    The extracts below from a piece in the Irish Examiner in December 2014 will provide you with some background.

    Churchtown House

    The package, with abandoned hotel hopes, and various permissions for a holiday development and golf academy is on 149 acres, with a further c 82 acres of farm-land, on the side of the MacGillycuddy Reeks. As an entire of 235 acres, it’s guided at €2m, on behalf of a receiver. It last changed hands about a decade ago, to local development company Galvins, who drafted ambitious multi-million euro plans for it, to include a golf academy, 70 golf lodges, 20 suites and 12-bed hotel with leisure facilities.Being marketed this week is the parkland Beaufort Golf Course, along with good land, in four divisions guided at €750,000, or €9,000 an acre, seven miles from Killarney: it has been billed as the hidden gem or secret golf course of the south-west, with captivating Reeks views. The original golf course opened in 1995 to a design by Dr Arthur Spring, since adapted by another designer Tom McKenzie, and it’s a 7,000 yard 18-hole par 71 course, which is GUI affiliated. It circles Churchtown House, which is not included in the sale, and which is still lived in by the Magill family who sold the privately-owned golf course to the Galvin company in the mid 2000s. Planning for the 120-bed hotel and 20 suites has now lapsed, and is part-built with four storey shell and roof in place. Also planned were 20 detached two storey golf lodges, and two courtyard developments, each of 25 units, plus nine-hole golf academy course, but no construction was undertaken on the latter elements. Lot 1 is 82.45 acres guiding excess of €750,000.

    We are fortunate to have “our man in Waterville” in the person of Simon Harrison who has been responsible for “oiling the wheels” of our visit to the town. Below is an abridged version of one of his recent missives.

    Shamrock 2022 – Update Report 2nd April 2022 DAY 3 – Iveragh – Ballaghisheen Pass, Waterville, Ballinaskelligs, Kells, Glencar. Mobile Coffee just below Ballaghisheen Pass.Wholly Dough – Julie Lee King – confirmed and price agreed. Deposit requested and SH meeting on 23rd April to recce location. Old Post Office/ChurchOwners John O’Brien (Father); Darren O’Brien (Son) visited on 5th March. Happy for route to pass through section of their yard. Need a reminder phone call beforehand. Met owner of White Cottage – wild bachelor farmer with long flyaway hair and pretty deaf and unintelligible. Had communication rather than chat but he is quite happy for cars to pass him. The track now has had some attention and a good surface. Since last report, the Waterville Meander route checked by the Michaels is viable. Bayview Test – now confirmed – entry via tunnel and exit beside Sea Lodge. May need to keep some space for the parking of the last 15 or so cars. Permission has been given to park cars on the grass in front of the Bayview. Note on Parking – the grass area opposite Sealodge is not suitable, however as per above permission now to hand to park on the grass immediately in front of the Bayview which should be good for about 15 cars. Sealodge will keep their front area free for parking which should take 24 cars max with double parking to both sides. Balance of parking therefore suggested for section closest to Sealodge behind Bayview. Parking in front of Sealodge circa 24 cars if managed. Co-Op Test (on road to Ballinaskelligs) needs to coincide with their lunch hour 1-2pm – all confirmed, requesting copy of insurance, which can be emailed to me. Afternoon Coffee Stop and Test TC 3/3 at Golden’s Kells is “ready to roll”. Refeshments will be Barrista Coffee (full menu) and Homebake – test on Glenbeigh side of carpark. Pub Stop at Climbers Inn for a pint has been agreed – expect they will call me to reconfirm. DAY 3 – Dingle. Lunch Stop in Dingle Skellig Hotel and test and parking adjacent overflow carpark across road confirmed. Soup and deluxe sandwiches.

    Just a brief word about units. As you will be aware, courtesy of the Regs, the distances in the route instructions are given in miles. Not mentioned are the units of time which you would assume (correctly) are hrs.mins.secs. However, I had occasion to make a phone call to Newry recently and encountered a unit of time peculiar to the “North”: the “wee minute” – as in “Would you hold on for a wee minute please?”. Given that there are quite a few competitors from that jurisdiction, I felt it worth mentioning this potential pitfall so as to avoid any possible confusion. Neither, of course, will the less common “wee second” be used.

    You will be relieved that my mathematical meanderings have almost come to an end. I will finish in this edition with a couple of vaguely connected whimpers. Is a µm a micron or one of these? (left)

    There are only 10 types of people in the world – those who understand binary and those who don’t.
    A T-shirt “design” I encountered recently
    √-4 = 2
    It’s all fun and games
    until someone loses an i

    – Norbury

    P.S. A task, additional to an official’s timekeeping/observing primary function, is quite often chatting to the locals. The big advantage of the cars being “pre-war and the sensible regularity speeds (on the public road at least!) results in these being congenial affairs. However, occasionally, there can be some disquiet when drivers become a little bit over-enthusiastic when departing from time points so as to recover the time lost at the point. Please proceed in a fashion sufficiently demure to avoid umbrage. The TP locations have been chosen carefully so as to preclude the necessity to indulge in unseemly behaviour.

    You will be very impressed when you pass through the Ballaghbeama Gap

  • March 15, 2022

    Newsletter 3

    “i”s are being dotted and “t”s crossed at this stage and everything is coming together nicely. What follows is my continuing crusade to whet your appetite. This, as you will discover, but not surprise, I’m sure, given my previous missives is a rather haphazard exercise. I hope that this won’t detract from your enjoyment, if any. Some of the apparently random snippets below relate to places you will encounter en route.

    MG TA

    Martin and Lesley Neal will be bringing a different car to last time. Not too different, mind you. It is their white MG TA, pictured left at the California Cup event in 2021.

    Other competitor news is that Mark and Susie Davenport will be joining us in their 1935 Aston Martin MK II 1.5 litre Short Chassis 2/4.For those interested in detailed information about the car, I extricated what follows from the bowels of the internet. At the risk of offending most of you, I prefer to think of it as “piffling minutiae”. Introduced in January 1934, the Aston Martin MKII was a more sophisticated design than its predecessors. Constructed using tapering channel-section side members, the newcomer’s ladder frame chassis was further reinforced via an additional crossmember and enlarged aluminium bulkhead. Rotated through ninety-degrees its twin Hartford friction shock absorbers exerted greater control over the front axle, while the use of large-diameter cable-operated Alfin drums all round meant that braking remained a dynamic strongpoint. Boasting a stiffer, fully counterbalanced crankshaft, redesigned cylinder head, Silentbloc mounts and new chain tensioner, the familiar 1494cc SOHC four-cylinder engine was both smoother and more powerful than before. Developing some 73bhp @ 5,200rpm in standard tune, it was allied to four-speed manual transmission and endowed the model with a top speed of up to 85mph.

    Aston

    Mark & Susie have a small garage on the North Norfolk coast at Blakeney, where in addition to modern garage work, fuel sales etc. they collect, buy, sell, and support classic and vintage cars, motorbikes and bicycles. Vintage Bentleys are a favourite as Tim Birkin is buried in the churchyard of the local church – St Nicholas’s. Hence many Bentley rallies and enthusiasts come through. They prefer to be described as eager competitors rather than hardened professionals. I trust that they will find the “Challenge” felicitous. The Aston is pictured right outside the above-mentioned church.

    Ballylegan House

    Lancelot Joseph Moore Studholme was the only son of Joseph, who owned Ballyegan Estate, King’s County (Offaly) and his wife, Mary.  (Ballyegan House is pictured left.) He was educated in England. He had a lifelong interest in gardening and won many prizes. After the death of his father in 1904, Lancelot took over his estate and became a Justice of the Peace for King’s County. He later filled the office of High Sheriff in 1909.  On the outbreak of the Great War, Lancelot joined the Leinster Regiment as a private and was later commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, finally to Captain.  He returned home for a brief period in January 1915 and visited the local school in Ballyegan where he gave the children sweets and gifts. This school had been endowed by the Studholme family to the parish. He was noted for his kindness and generosity. His final act of generosity was when he gave his life to assist his batman at the Battle of the Somme in September 1916. The batman, who was named Harte, and had previously worked on his estate in Ballylegan was wounded by a bullet. Lancelot stopped to assist him and was killed himself by machine gun fire.

    The Smugglers Inn in Waterville, mentioned in the last Newsletter, has been removed from the itinerary. It is not that the nefarious activities implied by the hostelry’s name have caught up with the proprietors but, more mundanely, that a test opportunity has arisen which is facilitated by our going to The Sea Lodge for sustenance instead.

    The Skelligs, a pair of islands off the Dingle peninsula, Skellig Michael and Little Skellig, have UNESCO World Heritage Site status courtesy of their ornithological and archaeological significance. Little Skellig is the home of some 27,000 pairs of gannets, the second largest colony of such sea birds in the world.The monastic site on Skellig Micheal is reached by climbing over five hundred steps up a 1000 year-old stone stairway. Stone beehive huts where monks lived and prayed centuries ago cling to cliff edges alongside oratories, a cemetery, stone crosses, holy wells and the Church of St Michael. These isolated archaeological remains show the dramatically spartan conditions in which this early Christian community lived. Enduring several Viking raids, the monks eventually left the island in the thirteenth century and it subsequently became a place of pilgrimage. It is probably better known, however, for its being used as a location for two “Star Wars” films –The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.

    The Alexander family founded the Milford Flour Mills at Ballygowan, beside the River Barrow near Carlow town in 1790. By the 1830s the enterprise had reached a turnover of £195,000 a year. In 1856 disaster struck and the Mills were totally destroyed by fire. They had only recently been refurbished under the direction of William Fairbairn of Manchester. At the time of the fire they were capable of manufacturing from 45,000 to 50,000 sacks of flour per annum. It was thought that the fire occurred as a result of sparks, from the friction of grinding stones, igniting a quantity of corn. In 1891, the mill was modified to generate electricity and in so doing Carlow became the first inland town in Ireland or Britain to receive electric power. In the 1940s what remained of the malting building was converted into a tannery. Sheepskins from around Ireland were processed with the leather supplying shoe factories across the country. It also exported leather and chamois to the United Kingdom and the United States. Fire struck again in 1965 and the tannery closed down. In the 1990s the building was recommissioned and a concrete block turbine house added to generate electricity which feeds into the National Grid.

    The McGillycuddy Reeks is one of Ireland’s most impressive mountain ranges. Their highest peaks can be seen here on a sunny March afternoon with a light covering of snow viewed across Lough Nakirka in Oulagh. The Climbers Inn is a hostelry favoured by walkers in the Reeks. It is also a recommended stop for cyclists, both pedal and motor varieties, as it is for those with four wheels who have enjoyed a spin over the agreeable mountain roads. You may have an opportunity to drop in here for a “quick one”.

    – Norbury

    This is once more (the last time – Phew!) the same triangle that you encountered in Newsletters 1 & 2. This time, draw a line down from the top vertex to the centre of the baseline – this is called a median.Draw in the other two medians. Lo and behold, for a third time they pass through the same point. This one is called the centroid and is not the centre of any circle though there is more useless useful information to enthral you below. NOT BEFORE YOU HAVE A GO THOUGH

    The centroid can be thought of as the centre of gravity of the triangle. Because our triangle is merely a shape on a page it is weightless and so can’t have a centre of gravity. Hence the term centroid.

    There is a corollary to all of this which can be seen in the adjacent triangle. You will remember the red dot from Newsletter 1, the circumcentre and the green one from Newsletter 2, the orthocentre. When we include the centroid, we get, not just a random arrangement of the three dots, but a straight line. And not only that – the centroid divides the line in a ratio of 2:1. How serendipitous is that?

    It is called Euler’s Line in deference to its discoverer Leonhard Euler.

  • February 10, 2022

    Newsletter 2

    The main change in plans occasioned by the Covid hiccough is the Start location move from Clonmel to Kilkenny. This was referred to in Newsletter 1. It has, of course, had an impact on the originally intended route for Days 1 & 2. What follows is a random selection of snippets regarding the revised (and original) itinerary. There is also some competitor car news.

    Castlecomer Mines Virgin Mary

    After lunch on Sunday, there will be a “lap” of Kilkenny including two regularities and four tests. You will pass over the Comer Plateau, which is notable for being the source of “the best quality anthracite in the British Isles, if not all of Europe”. While difficult to light, it burned for a long time, producing intense heat and very little smoke –  important at a time when many humble dwellings had no chimneys. (To misquote an old maxim, “there was fire without smoke”). Another luminary who was a fan was Winston Churchill. He was Admiral of the Fleet in WW1 and was appreciative of its facilitating his ships’ ability to “sneak up on” the enemy. Also worth mentioning is that your C-o-C’s great-grandfather and grandfather owned one of the more modest mines. Most of the over 600 men who worked in the mines in the 1950s and 1960s are now dead. Those that remain recall that health & safety safeguards amounted to little more than the statue of the Virgin Mary at the colliery gate.

    Cantwell’s Castle

    Keep an eye out for Cantwell’s Castle (right). It is located in the townland of Sandfordscourt in the barony of Gowran, County Kilkenny. A former owner, Thomas Sandford, was Mayor of Kilkenny in 1723. On Monday, there will be a “close-to-shortest” route westish to Killarney. Parachutes will not be necessary for our visit to Ballyboe unless your conveyance has aerodynamic idiosyncracies which it attempts to flaunt during the airstrip test. More than ten seconds off the ground will merit a “fail”. There will be a coffee stop at Grove Stud. This is situated on 75 acres of fine limestone land and has thirty five stables. North Cork is world famous for its equine history and the numerous studs here have reared many Grand National Winners as well as inventing the Steeplechase! En route to lunch you will be passing through the wonderfully named Twopothouse townland. This is not to be confused with its more elderly neighbour Oldtwopothouse. Watch out during this section for Irish rally legend Billy Coleman whose “land” we will be passing through – we hope he won’t be coming the other way!

    Lakeview House

    Sustenance will be provided in Springfort Hall. It was formerly known as Baltydaniel, an anglicised Irish name which translates as the ‘Town of the House of O’ Donnell’.
Just before we arrive in Dunloe Castle Hotel, we’ll be popping in to Lakeview House. Steeped in history and character, the House has long been linked to the family of Daniel O’Connell (a huge figure in Ireland’s 19th century history, known as “The Liberator”), and to the famed MacCarthy clan. This is now the home of Sir Maurice O’Connell and is the location for the production of one of the newer Irish whiskeys, “The Liberator ”. O’Connell’s “Liberator” appellation was courtesy of his being responsible for (Roman) Catholic Emancipation – not just in Ireland but throughout the British Empire. (He was a bit of a globetrotter.)

    Smugglers Inn

    Day 3 brings us around the “Ring of Kerry” on the Iveragh peninsula. We will pass through the Macgillicuddy Reeks and skirt the highest mountain in Ireland, Carrauntoohill. We will also drive over classic Circuit of Ireland stages like “Caragh Lake” (and on the final day, “Conor Pass”). On the outskirts of Waterville, The Smugglers Inn sits on the edge of the Kerry coastline along 2 km of beautiful sandy beaches. Built in 1779, the restored farmhouse has seen five generations provide first-class hospitality. It is currently one of Ireland’s top seafood restaurants.Kells, on the north side of the peninsula is a traditional fishing village. Golden’s is the local hostelry for the discerning. The Iveragh-based bar was originally known as The O’Connell Arms, courtesy of its links with the aforementioned Daniel. O’Connell would have stopped off here when he travelled between Caherdaniel (further west) and the Dublin Parliament.

    Bold Jack Donohoe

    The grand finale will be on the Dingle Peninsula. We will pass through Castlemaine twice during the day. In pride of place in the town is the bronze statue of “The Wild Colonial Boy” thus named because of the eponymous ballad. Legend has it that Jack Duggan, also known as “Bold Jack Donohoe” was born in Castlemaine in 1806. In 1824, aged 18, he was convicted of “intent to commit a felony” (probably rebel sympathies or connections) and was sentenced to be transported for life to New South Wales.  He had a chequered career which resulted in his becoming one of Australia’s most notorious bushrangers. On1st September 1830, a group of soldiers and police caught Donohoe and his gang near Campbelltown. During the battle Donohoe was shot dead.

    Fungie

    Dingle is a small port town on the Peninsula, known for its rugged scenery, trails and sandy beaches. Its best known tourist attraction for many years was Fungie, the dolphin, who lived in the local waters and was almost tame. Last year, however, Fungie decided to seek a change of scenery and departed for pastures new thus depriving the town of one of its tourist magnets. Dingle is also celebrated for the “Other Voices Music Festival” which has a spin-off TV series called “Other Voices”. This is filmed in the intimate setting of the 200-year-old Church of St James. Performers, of whom I have heard, include Duke Special, Billy Bragg, Elbow, James Morrison, Lisa Hannigan, Mick Flannery, Imelda May & Snow Patrol.

    Churchtown House

    The SOUTH POLE INN, located in Annascaul, contains a collection of Tom Crean memorabilia. As well as paying tribute to Tom Crean the Antarctic Explorer, the South Pole Inn now commemorates the village’s other famous son: Jerome Connor, an eminent Irish-American sculptor. A purpose-built gallery exhibiting his work was opened in April 2014. We will be finishing up in the 18th Century Churchtown House situated in the foothills of the Macgillicuddy Reeks. The house was built in 1740 by Sir Roland Blennerhassett and has been in the Magill family since 1860. The house sits alongside Beaufort Golf Course, in the clubhouse of which we will be drowning our sorrows (or otherwise).

    – Norbury

    This is the same triangle that you encountered in Newsletter 1. This time, draw a line down from the top vertex so that it hits the base at right angles – this is called an orthogonal. Draw in the other two orthogonals. Lo and behold, they pass through the same point which is referred to as the orthocentre and, like last time, it is the centre of a circle – not as obvious as the circumcircle. Find out more further down. NOT BEFORE YOU HAVE A GO THOUGH

    1906 Bianchi 28/40

    There has been an interesting recent addition to the ranks, courtesy of Peter and Luke Roberts, who have entered what will be the oldest car in the field – a 1906 Bianchi 28/40 which boasts a formidable 7400 cc engine. The car has competed widely, including twice in the SF Edge Goodwood Member Meet race, VSCC races, hill climbs and trials plus a Paris to Vienna rally where it won its class. It is an original fast Edwardian capable of well over 80 mph. The car has a past connection with Ireland as it was acquired by Jim Boland from Lord Montagu (of Beaulieu) in 1968. Jim restored the car and competed in the 1970 VCC 1000 mile trial. Peter has owned the car for seven years. In other cars, with his co-driver son and other co-drivers, Peter has competed in the 2010 Paris-Peking rally, Paris Madrid rally and several Frazer Nash events. Whilst taking events seriously, it is the joy of driving with like-minded enthusiasts that attracts him to events such as this.

    If we drop perpendiculars from each of the vertices they are also concurrent – this is the ORTHOCENTRE.

    It is also the centre of a circle, albeit a slightly contrived one. Join the feet (pedes) of the perpendiculars to form the pedal triangle. Then, draw the bisectors of the angles in this triangle. Where they meet gives you the centre of its INCIRCLE.

  • October 8, 2021

    Newsletter 1

    A drawback to generating a Newsletter for a well-received event is that competitors return for more, thus rendering there being fewer people/cars to write about. Nonetheless, the entry forms have provided me with quite an amount of information. Before regaling you with these “nuggets”, there is some “intel” (consult a young person as to the meaning of this “word”) concerning your accommodation and some landmarks.

    Kilkenny Castle

    Your first port of call will be the Newpark Hotel in Kilkenny which will provide all of the physical prerequisites you might expect. Kilkenny is a wonderful city, dominated by its Castle. As many of you will know, there is lots to do here – an early arrival would give you an opportunity to experience some of its delights.

    Even more cognisant of your corporeal needs will be the Dunloe Hotel and Gardens on the outskirts of Killarney. It overlooks the famous Gap of Dunloe and is set on its own 64 acre estate leading to the ruins of the 12th century castle and River Laune. The “Gap” separates the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks to the west and the Purple Mountain group to the east and includes some spectacular lakes. A notable landmark is Kate Kearney’s Cottage. Kate was a well known beauty in Ireland in the years before the Great Famine (1845-1849). It was in this cottage (upgraded since then!) that Kate distilled her famous poitín, ‘Kate Kearney’s Mountain Dew’, which was “very fierce and wild, requiring not less than seven times its own quantity of water to tame and subdue it.” It was of course illicit! Yet another attraction here is the option to travel by jaunting car(not allowed for in the regs), the drivers of which are called jarveys.

    Kate Kearney’s Cottage.

    A conspicuous feature of previous Newsletters was the infiltration of some mathematically inspired snippets to pander to my delusion that mathematics might be interesting. I regret to have to apprise you that I am continuing this practice.

    Last year, Blaise Pascal was the featured genius. This year it is the turn of the 17th century Swiss mathematician (amongst other disciplines) Leonhard Euler. So clever was he that there is Euler’s Identity, Euler’s Number and Euler’s Line to remember him by. It is the last of these which I will address. We will begin with some drawing. If you would like to participate, you will need a ruler, a pencil and a pair of compasses (not two of the instruments which allow you to determine direction, rather the tool for drawing circles). You will also need a hard copy of this page of the Newsletter. This will provide you with a blank triangle to play with. This exercise is not obligatory.
    – Norbury

    With the help of your ruler, find and mark the mid-point of each side. Using “draughtsman’s eye” or, if you are particularly enthusiastic a protractor or set-square, draw lines at right-angles/perpendicular to the sides. You will now have discovered something interesting – all of these lines intersect at the same point. This is not “any old point”. It is the centre of a circle which passes through the three “corners” of the triangle which you can confirm by deploying your pair of compasses circumspectly. The circle, not surprisingly, is termed the circumcircle and its centre, the CIRCUMCENTRE.

    Jayne Wignall & Kevin Savage

    1932 Sunbeam 20hp Sports

    The 2-seater body is built on a 23.8 chassis shortened by 12”. It was designed and built by Geoff Henderson from Co. Durham. The Wignalls have owned the car since 2003 and have covered over 30,000 miles including several rallies. Most recently (Feb. 2019) they shipped car to New Zealand for a 3,000 mile tour of the North & South islands. For this tour a special luggage box was bolted to the running board with a rather ingenious receptacle for an umbrella!

    Roger Tushingham & Dennis Greenslade

    1935 MG PB Midget

    MG 4582 Midget, built in 1935 and first registered in August 1936. On failing an MOT test in the early 60s the owner, James Winnard, took the car off the road for a comprehensive rebuild. His son, Keith, completed the job 50 years later! Roger acquired the car in 2015 and as he found it very slow he is fitting a gadget that is supposed to blow the fuel into the engine!

    James Tibbitts & Gavin Millington

    1933 Talbot AV105 Brooklands

    Fully restored by mark specialist Ian Polson. Is now used extensively across Europe including rallies in the Alps and Pyrenees. James has competed in the Flying Scotsman as well as the 2019 Shamrock Vintage Challenge.

    Kevin Lee & Annabel Jones

    1936 Frazer Nash BMW

    One of just three remaining FN-BMW 319 saloons, the car was imported to the UK in 1936 and first registered in Liverpool in 1937. Extensively rallied in the 50s by Bob Macpherson when it was modified with an Austin A40 back axle and a Wolseley gearbox. The current owners purchased it in 2018 and returned it to its original configuration.

    David Thomson & Alan Smith

    1936 Talbot 105 Alpine

    This car has done loads of rallies over the past 20 years, including every Flying Scotsman bar 2012. The car, despite having done nearly 80,000 miles in the last 11 years, has managed to finish in the Top 8 in all of those “Scotsman”s – impressive.

    Reto Mebes & Nick Bloxham

    1930 Bentley 3/4.5 Sport Racer

    Reto has Nick Bloxham with him this time and also has a different car – still a Bentley but a different model – a 1930 3./4.5 Sport Racer.

    Irvine Laidlaw & Tony Davies

    1935 BMW 319/1

    The car hasn’t required much attention since its last outing – just an oil change and spanner check. Second in 2018 (they woz, or should that be wuz?) robbed by a tractor, they won in 2019. No improvement expected in 2021.

    Francis & Marie Rhatigan

    1939 BMW 328FN

    They have survived two Shamrocks and hope to do similarly on this occasion.

    Martin & Lesley Neal

    1936 MG TA

    They hope to have as good a time as in 2019

    Steve Wilson & Trina Harley

    1948 Morris 8 Series E

    They were sixth on the first Shamrock Challenge and have been Class winners on the Rally of the Tests and the Winter Challenge.

    Stuart & Emily Anderson

    1936 Bentley Derby 4.25

    This car was first owned by Eddie Hall and lapped Brooklands in 1936 at 109 mph. He won’t be expecting to match this on the Ring of Kerry

  • May 13, 2020

    Newsletter 2

    The well-oiled machine that is Shane, Mickey and Michael should now have been about to engage top gear so as to cruise through the tour-de-force that the Shamrock Challenge 2020 promised to be. The vagaries of life on Earth are, I suppose, what makes it so stimulating. The caprice that is Covid-19 has proved to have had a rather more pervasive effect than our usual random global changes in circumstances.

    Good news is that the plan to run the event in 2021 will allow the treats that had been prepared for you not go to waste. The Dunloe Castle Hotel has been booked so that is the main consideration from an organizational point of view taken care of.

    It has been a long time since Newsletter 1 appeared. The details still hold. This second missive will whet your appetite with some information about interesting places we will be visiting and passing by/through. While many of you will be able to join us next year, there are some whose plans are sufficiently far advanced that they know already they will be otherwise engaged. Hence, I will refrain from including bits about cars/competitors. It should be reassuring for those who will be making it, and for those who may decide to add themselves to the list, that the team behind Shane, Mickey and Michael remains intact so that you can look forward to the same “super service” as heretofore.

    Mount-Mellery

    Grove stud

    Starting in Clonmel, there will be an afternoon in its vicinity. This will include a visit to Mount Melleray Abbey, a community of Cistercian (Trappist) monks. The monastery is situated on the slopes of the Knockmealdown Mountains in Co. Waterford. On Monday there will be a close-to-shortest route west to Killarney. Grove Stud is situated on 75 acres of fine limestone land and has thirty five stables. North Cork is world famous for its equine history and the numerous studs here have reared many Grand National Winners as well as inventing the Steeplechase!

    Longueville

    Lakeview

    Longueville House is a stunning year-old listed Georgian Country hidden in the heart of acre wooded Blackwater also North Just before we arrive Dunloe Castle be popping to Lakeview House. Steeped in history and character, the House has long been linked to the family of Daniel O’Connell (a huge figure in Ireland’s 19th century history, known as “The Liberator”), and to the famed MacCarthy clan.

    Smugglers Inn

    Day 3 brings us around the “Ring of Kerry” on the Iveragh peninsula. We will pass through the Macgillicuddy Reeks and skirt the highest mountain in Ireland, Carrauntoohill. We will also drive over classic Circuit of Ireland stages like “Caragh Lake” (and on the final day, “Conor Pass”). On the outskirts of Waterville, The Smugglers Inn sits on the edge of the Kerry coastline along 2km of beautiful sandy beaches. Built in 1779. The restored farm house spans five generations of food, quality and Irish tradition.

    Goldens

    Kells, on the north side of the peninsula is a traditional fishing village. Golden’s is the local hostelry for the discerning. The Iveragh based bar was originally known as The O’Connell Arms courtesy of its links with one of Ireland’s more famous sons, Daniel O’Connell. O’Connell would have stopped off here when he travelled between Caherdaniel (further west) and the Dublin Parliament.

    Wild Colonial

    The grand finale will be on the Dingle Peninsula. We will pass through Castlemaine twice during the day. In pride of place in the town is the bronze statue of “The Wild Colonial Boy” thus named because of the eponymous ballad. Legend has it that Jack Duggan, also known as “Bold Jack Donohoe” was born in Castlemaine in 1806. In 1824, aged 18, he was convicted of “intent to commit a felony” (probably rebel sympathies or connections) and was sentenced to be transported for life to New South Wales. He had a chequered career which resulted in his becoming one of Australia’s most celebrated bushrangers. On1st September 1830, a group of soldiers and police caught Donohoe and his gang near Campbelltown. During the battle Donohoe was shot dead.

    Fungi

    Dingle is a small port town on the Peninsula, known for its rugged scenery, trails and sandy beaches. Its best known tourist attraction is Fungie, the dolphin,who lives in the local waters and is almost tame at this stage. It is also celebrated for the “Other Voices Music Festival” which has a spin-off TV series called “Other Voices”. This is filmed in the intimate setting of the 200-year-old Church of St James. Performers, of whom I have heard, include Duke Special, Billy Bragg, Elbow, James Morrison, Lisa Hannigan, Mick Flannery, Imeld May & Snow Patrol.

    South Pole Inn

    Churchtown House

    The SOUTH POLE INN, located in Annascaul, contains a collection of Tom Crean memorabilia. As well as paying tribute to Tom Crean the Antarctic Explorer, the South Pole Inn now commemorates the village’s other famous son: Jerome Connor, a major Irish-American sculptor. A purpose-built gallery exhibiting his work was opened in April 2014.

    We will be finishing up in the 18th Century Churchtown House situated in the foothills of the Macgillicuddy Reeks. The house was built in 1740 by Sir Roland Blennerhassett and has been in the Magill family since 1860. The house sits alongside Beaufort Golf Course, in the clubhouse of which we will be drowning our sorrows (or otherwise).

    I’ll be in touch maybe later this year but definitely in 2021.

    – Norbury

    You may remember in Newsletter 1 that Leonhard Euler had been selected to divert you from the more relevant matters motoring. Unfortunately, his ‘Line” saga would be too protracted to include here to its conclusion – I will leave it as something for you to look forward to in the build-up to the 2021 Shamrock!

    So as not to disappoint the mathematically curious amongst you I am offering you some observations on Euler’s Number. SCROLL DOWN to be amazed!

    √4 is 2 straightforward
    √2 is not quite so straightforward – 1.4142 is close
    (1.4142 x 1.4142 = 1.99996164)

    No matter how enthusiastically you refine your estimate you never get it spot-on. In situations like this the number is termed irrational.

    Irrational numbers crop up in lots of situations. You will probably have come across π, the ratio of the circumference and the diameter of a circle. Again, an exact number cannot be found. As above, a practical value of 3.1416 can be useful.

    Euler enjoyed investigating situations which give rise to irrational numbers. What makes him special is that he discovered a number of apparently unrelated scenarios which generated the SAME irrational number. The genius of the man is how he formulated this very theoretical “stuff”. In deference to his work this number is annotated e. That e is the first letter of exponential is serendipitous as Euler loved his exponentials.

    Like the above irrational numbers, there is no exact value for e. 2.7183 is close.

    Before I start describing situations in which e plays a part, it does have a random quirk in a more accurate approximation than the one above – 2.718281828 which has an unusual feature in that the digits 1828 are repeated.

    The symbol √ is understood by most.
    How about ! in a mathematical context?
    ! is translated as factorial.
    4! = 4 x 3 x 2 x 1
    5! = 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 and so on
    0! is difficult to evaluate by the above method. It is deemed to be worth 1.

    One day, there was Euler looking for something to do, so he started working out what the stylish looking series below would add up to.
    1/0! + 1/1! + 1/2! + 1/3! +1/4! + 1/5! + 1/6! + ……
    The first few terms go something like this
    1/1 + 1/1 + 1/2 + 1/6 + 1/24 + 1/120 = 2.7166
    This is heading for 2.7183.
    Euler kept going until he had his number correct to 18 decimal places.
    (What else would you be doing in the early 1700s?)

    Another day, Euler was contemplating the elegant looking mathematical expression below and he started putting numbers into and working out what it was worth. This is what happened.

    • (1 + 1/n)n
    • n = 1 gave him ….. 2.00000
    • n = 2 gave him ….. 2.25000
    • n = 5 gave him ….. 2.48832
    • n = 10 ……………………2.59374
    • n = 100 ………………….2.70481
    • n = 1000………………. 2.71692
    • n = 10000………………2.71815
    • n = 100000……………2.71827

    This, as you can see, rounds off to the 2.7183 above.

    If you can cast you mind back to your school days and were fortunate to have done calculus, you will remember that it came in two varieties – differential and integral. The easier was differential and you may remember doing stuff like this.

    • f(x) = x2 what is f’(x)?
    • The answer (the derivative) is 2x
    • Sometimes this was presented as:
    • y = x2 what is dy/dx? The derivative was still 2x.
    • Sin x had a derivative of Cos x.
    • There were tables to help with these.

    Euler enjoyed this branch of mathematics but came to wonder if there was some mathematical expression which had the same derivative as itself and yes, you’ve guessed it – he found one. It was “his” number to the power of x. ex

  • October 24, 2019

    Newsletter 1

    A drawback to generating a Newsletter for a well-received event is that competitors return for more, thus rendering there being fewer people/cars to write about. Nonetheless, the entry forms have provided me with quite an amount of information. Before regaling you with these nuggets, I will fill you in on a couple of other matters. While the route is almost finalised, it is a little premature to be whetting your appetite for the challenges in store.

    Hotel Minella

    At a more fundamental level the Hotel Minella in Clonmel will provide all of the physical prerequisites you expect. It is located on the picturesque banks of the River Suir, on the edge of the town. The Suir is one of the “Three Sisters” – the others are the Barrow and the Nore – which reach the sea in Waterford. Clonmel’s hinterland is home to quite a few multi-nationals, particularly in the medical area. These include Abbot and Boston Scientific. Probably of more immediate interest to us is the Bulmers (known as Magners elsewhere) cider plant which has been operating since 1935. It is recommended that you avail of the hydration opportunity offered by this excellent product. Even more cognizant of your corporeal needs will be the Dunloe Hotel and Gardens on the outskirts of Killarney. It overlooks the famous Gap of Dunloe and is set on its own 64 acre estate leading to the ruins of the 12th century castle and River Laune.

    Dunloe Hotel & Gardens

    The “Gap” separates the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks to the west and the Purple Mountain group to the east and includes some spectacular lakes

    Kate Kearney’s Cottage

    A notable landmark is Kate Kearney’s Cottage. Kate was a well known beauty in Ireland in the years before the Great Famine (1845-1849). It was in this cottage (upgraded since then!) that Kate distilled her famous poitín, ‘Kate Kearney’s Mountain Dew’, which was “very fierce and wild, requiring not less than seven times its own quantity of water to tame and subdue it.” It was of course illicit! Yet another attraction here is the option to travel by jaunting car (not allowed for in the regs), the drivers of which are called jarveys.

    Jaunting car

    A conspicuous feature of the 2018 & 2019 Newsletters was the infiltration of some mathematically inspired snippets to pander to my delusion that mathematics might be interesting. I regret to have to apprise you that I am continuing this practice. Last year, Blaise Pascal was the featured genius. This year it is the turn of the 17th century Swiss mathematician (amongst other disciplines) Leonhard Euler. So clever was he that there is Euler’s Identity, Euler’s Number and Euler’s Line to remember him by. It is the last of these which I will address. We will begin with some drawing. If you would like to participate, you will need a ruler, a pencil and a pair of compasses (not two of the instruments which allow you to determine direction, rather the tool for drawing circles). You will also need a hard copy of this page of the Newsletter. This will provide you with a blank triangle to play with. This exercise is not obligatory.

    – Norbury

    With the help of your ruler, find and mark the mid-point of each side. Using “draughtsman’s eye” or, if you are particularly enthusiastic a protractor or set-square, draw lines at right-angles/perpendicular to the sides. You will now have discovered something interesting – all of these lines intersect at the same point. This is not “any old point”. It is the centre of a circle which passes through the three “corners” of the triangle which you can confirm by deploying your pair of compasses circumspectly. The circle, not surprisingly, is termed the circumcircle and its centre, the CIRCUMCENTRE.

    Jayne Wignall & Kevin Savage –
    1932 Sunbeam 20hp Sports

    The 2-seater body is built on a 23.8 chassis shortened by 12”. It was designed and built by Geoff Henderson from Co. Durham. The Wignalls have owned the car since 2003 and have covered over 30,000 miles including several rallies. Most recently (Feb. 2019) they shipped car to New Zealand for a 3,000 mile tour of the North & South islands. For this tour a special luggage box was bolted to the running board with a rather ingenious receptacle for an umbrella!

    Roger Tushingham & Dennis Greenslade 1935 MG PB Midget. Built in 1935 and first registered in August 1936. On failing an MOT test in the early 60s the owner, James Winnard, took the car off the road for a comprehensive rebuild. His son, Keith, completed the job 50 years later! Roger acquired the car in 2015 and as he found it very slow he is fitting a gadget that is supposed to blow the fuel into the engine!

    James Tibbitts & Gavin Millington
    1933 Talbot AV105 Brooklands

    Fully restored by mark specialist Ian Polson. Is now used extensively across Europe including rallies in the Alps and Pyrenees. James has competed in the Flying Scotsman as well as the 2019 Shamrock Vintage Challenge.

    Kevin Lee & Annabel Jones – 1936 Frazer Nash BMW. One of just three remaining FN-BMW 319 saloons, the car was imported to the UK in 1936 and first registered in Liverpool in 1937. Extensively rallied in the 50s by Bob Macpherson when it was modified with an Austin A40 back axle and a Wolseley gearbox. The current owners purchased it in 2018 and returned it to its original configuration.

    Rory Henderson & Anastasia Djordjevic
    1922 Bentley 3/4.5

    This car was built by coach builders, R. Harrison & Son Ltd. of London. It was used by Bentley Motors for experimental & demonstration purposes having been sold to them by a Stuart de la Rue. It was road tested and featured by The Motor magazine in March 1923.

    Annette Abaci
    Invicta Type S

    Chassis S42, with coachwork by Carbodies, was delivered in 1931 and owned by the legendary Sound of Music actor, Christopher Plummer. It later competed at the Prescott Hill Climb in the 1950s. The name given her by the Invicta club in the fifties was Sandstone. The bodywork and interior were restored in the late 1990s and subsequently the engine was refurbished for the present owner. It is a fabulous, four seater vintage sportscar – fast, reliable and pretty. Annette renamed her Victoria after she acquired it in 2011 and has rallied it in New Zealand, Georgia (Black Sea) and China to name just a few of the places.

    Stuart & Emily Anderson – 1936 Bentley Derby 4.25. This car was first owned by Eddie Hall and lapped Brooklands in 1936 at 109 mph. He won’t be expecting to match this on the Ring of Kerry!

    Irvine Laidlaw & Tony Davies – 1935 BMW 319/1. This hasn’t required much attention – just an oil change and spanner check since last year. Second in 2018 (they woz, or should that be wuz?) robbed by a tractor, they won in 2019. No improvement expected in 2020.

    Francis & Marie Rhatigan – 1939 BMW 328FN. They have survived two Shamrocks and hope to do similarly on this occasion.

    Richard & Isobel Squire – 1930 Bentley 4.5 Corsica. Their car was rebuilt in 1936 for Forrest Lycett to race at Brooklands. It is largely original today.

    Steve Wilson & Trina Harley – 1948 Morris 8 Series E. They were sixth on the first Shamrock Challenge and have been Class winners on the Rally of the Tests and the Winter Challenge.

    CIRCUMCENTRE

    Martin & Lesley Neal – 1936 MG TA. They hope to have as good a time as last year

    David Thomson & Alan Smith
    1936 Talbot 105 Alpine

    This car has done loads of rallies over the past 20 years, including every Flying Scotsman bar 2012. The car, despite having done nearly 80,000 miles in the last 11 years, has managed to finish in the Top 8 in all of those “Scotsman”s – impressive.

    Reto Mebes & Hansjurgen Benze – 1934 Bentley Derby 3.5. They also hope to have as good a time as last year

    CIRCUMCIRCLE

  • April 29, 2019

    Newsletter 6

    Last minute route checking outings reminded us of the delights that await you. The images below from one of these exercises will, I hope, whet your appetite to a greater extent than it has been already whetted. Despite all the fabulous scenery and other distractions I suspect that this year’s edition of the Shamrock Vintage Challenge might well be remembered for its apparent fixation with galvanised gates. Finding “interesting” landmarks for the jogularities in some of the more remote territory was quite challenging. Recourse to galvanised gates was a welcome fallback on what transpired to be a considerably large number of occasions. Hence their insinuation into your grey matter.

    Following his success on the recent Flying Scotsman Bill Cleyndert has set himself up as a bit of a target. Let’s hope Jacqui doesn’t get caught in the cross-fire. Bill is bringing a different Bentley than he originally intended. Other Flying Scotsman good news was the announcement of the nuptials of Andy and Philippa (both now) Bailey. I suspect that seamless burgeoning of the liaison will be the order of the day. Further cause for celebration was their fine fifth overall.

    Mention of “galvanised” above, reminds me of my disappointment in the process as widely practised nowadays (galvanising that is). My formative education, such as it was, led me to believe that electrolysis with the gate, or other object to be treated, as the cathode, a zinc anode and zinc chloride as electrolyte resulted in a robust protective layer. This process is electroplating. I discovered recently that a more primitive approach is widely employed. The gate is just dipped into a vat of molten zinc which results in a layer of zinc remaining when the gate is removed. This is sufficiently thick to prevent corrosion. Incidentally, it is not actually the zinc itself which offers the protection but the coherent layer of zinc oxide which forms as soon as the zinc is in contact with the air. This prevents the ingress of corroding chemicals.

    More names from our entry list finished well up the order as well: Stuart & Emily Anderson, Graham Goodwin & Vincent Fairclough, Andrew & Ann Boland, Gavin & Diana Henderson and Eric & John Kavanagh. We trust that the Scotsman will have warmed them up for the Shamrock.

    Class and CC columns

    The updated Entry List includes two more columns than it has done previously, one for cc and the other for Class. The more assiduous amongst you filled in the cc space on the Entry Form with commendable accuracy. Others were more approximate and a dilatory few left it blank. As a result some of the numbers are guesses. I would like to think that they are educated guesses but given that I know the identity of the guesser, I would have my doubts! Whatever, the seemingly arbitrary cc categories have been carefully chosen for there to be a cosy 8/9 competitors in each class.

    Having spoken to competitors during, and since, last year’s inaugural event, one of the regularity elements which disconcerted some was that of the timing. While this issue may be better suited to a Bulletin, I think it is worth mentioning here.

    • Each section of a regularity is autonomous.
    • Start your stopwatch at the start.
    • Adjust your pace to conform with the accompanying Speed Table.
    • Compare your time at the first check (TP) with the Ideal Time on display there.
    • The discrepancy (if any!) should be added/ subtracted as appropriate from the subsequent Speed Table figures. (If it helps there is a column into which you can insert the Revised Time – don’t get lost while you are doing this!)
    • Repeat the procedure at the next check.
    • After the final check (there will be a sign) follow the Route Instructions at your own pace.

    I have just one last Pascal’s triangle insight. It is its relevance in the realm of probability. Those amongst you who enjoy the occasional flutter will have, unwittingly or otherwise, used it to assess the odds in wagers you have placed or contemplated. The six rows shown cover the chances ruling groups of one to six items.

    The sum of the numbers in any row gives the total number of combinations possible within that group. For instance, to determine the probability of any given boy/girl combination in a family of five children, the numbers in the fifth row are first added giving 32.

    The numbers at the end of the row stand for the least likely combinations – all boys (1 in 32) and all girls (1 in 32). The second and second-last numbers apply to the next most likely combination, 4 boys, 1 girl and 4 girls, 1 boy each of which has a probability of 5 in 32. The middle pair – 3 boys, 2 girls and vice versa – have a chance of 10 in 32. So, there you are. Head off to the bookies now with the wherewithal to effect a more informed betting strategy. P.S. You will maybe have noticed that the sum of all these probabilities is 1 – which is as it should be – there are no other variations possible. However, if you add up all the odds in say, a horse race, you will discover that the total falls slightly shy of 1. Guess who benefits from this discrepancy? Yes, the bookmakers! If you fancy discovering exactly what this disparity is you must convert the” horse racing odds” format, say “3 to 1”, to the format above, 1 in 4. “5 to 2 on” becomes 5 in 7. Then add them up. Happy punting.

    We received some good news from FIVA courtesy of Tony Davies, the details of which are below. Another award for you to aspire to.

    FIVA protects the responsible use of historic vehicles through legislative monitoring

    In 2016, the 50th Anniversary of FIVA, we introduced our “Best Preserved Vehicle” awards that have been presented at some high profile Concours d’Elegance events every year since. These awards continue to be awarded annually. However, in 2018, to encourage more historic vehicle enthusiasts a “Spirit of FIVA” award was created to enable FIVA to support more enthusiasts and events around the world. These “Spirit of FIVA” awards are now presented annually at 10 events world-wide and FIVA is delighted to include The Shamrock Vintage Challenge 2019 in its list of selected events for 2019.

    See you soon
    – Norbury

  • April 2, 2019

    Newsletter 5

    The proximity of St. Patrick’s Day prompted me to offer you some background to the flora that features in the event’s appellation.

    The tradition of wearing shamrock dates back centuries, and the small, three-leafed (or trefoil) plant is famously a symbol of Irishness. Yet, it’s a bit of a sham because – whisper it! – there is no such thing as ‘shamrock’. There were fanciful linguistic suggestions that the name Shamrock was originally Persian, but the word simply means ‘young clover’ (seamair óg). However, three very different clovers grow in Ireland, so which one is it? The small yellow-flowered Trifolium dubium? The larger, white-flowered T. repens? Or the even bigger red-flowered T. pratense? Or something else entirely? Seamsóg is the similarsounding Irish name for wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella), sometimes known as sourgrass and – here’s a clue – ‘false shamrock’.

    there is no such thing as
    ‘shamrock’.

    So, in the 1890s a Dublin naturalist set out to answer the question. Nathaniel Colgan began his detective work by writing to clergymen around the country, and asking for people to send him rooted samples of ‘shamrock’ at St Patrick’s day. According to Dr Matthew Jebb of the National Botanic Gardens, Colgan received dozens of samples, all trefoil plants that looked much the same. Colgan planted the rooted specimens and waited patiently till they flowered in early summer, at which point they could be identified. He found that he had five very different species, all of which were used around the country as shamrock. The timing of St Patrick’s Day in early spring is crucial in this botanical mix-up, according to Dr Jebb, as none of the five species is in flower in March. “With just their leaves they all look the same. Actually, when people see the small yellow clover later in the year, they think it’s such an insignificant flower!” He believes that this explains why Ireland has no national flower, though we do have an (unofficial) national plant. In 1988, a century after Colgan’s detective work, another naturalist repeated his shamrock experiment. Dr Charles Nelson again asked people around the country to send in shamrock specimens. Again, the same five species turned up – even though few people get their shamrock in the wild now, as they would have done in the past.

    Given his absence from Newsletter 4, you probably hoped that I had forgotten about Pascal – I hadn’t, so here are the ALMOST DIAGONALS of his triangle for you to ponder upon.

    Richard and Michael Squire

    Back to more relevant subject matter. Tracey Miklaucich is unable to accompany James Mann. He is having to make do with brother, Andrew. A back tribulation suffered by John has forced the Hickmans to withdraw altogether. Richard Squire and his son, Michael will be bringing their 1930 Bentley Corsica. This car was rebuilt in 1936 for Forrest Lycett to race at Brooklands. It hasn’t changed substantially since then.

    Three new Talbot 105s,

    Three new Talbot 105s, registered ‘BGH 21’, ’22 and ’23 were produced by the ‘works’ for the 1934 Alpine Trial. ‘BGH 21’ was allocated to the Wisdoms (Tommy and his wife Elsie), ‘BGH 22’ to Hugh Eaton, and ‘BGH 23’ to Mike Couper. The last of this trio will feature in this year’s “Shamrock” in the Wilfried/Sandra Schaefer respectively.

    Chris Abrey & Sara Banham’s BMW 328

    Chris Abrey & Sara Banham have arranged an agricultural ancillary and are coming back for another dose of punishment in their BMW 328.

    Michael Kunz & Carolyn Ward in their Dodge

    Hoping for a less eventful experience than last year when they won the “against all the odds” award, Michael Kunz & Carolyn Ward will be putting their Dodge to the test.

    David & Jacky Hall

    Even more unfortunate last year were David & Jacky Hall – terminal mechanical maladies saw them fail to make it to Ireland – let alone the start. They are looking forward to seeing what they missed. Steven Wilson & Trina Harley are satisfying their Irish inclinations with their second “Shamrock” to add to their previous “Emerald Isle”s.

    Other returnees include Rob and Jeanne Jeurissen

    Does this sequence ring any
    campane?

    Each term is generated by
    adding together the two
    previous terms

    The Andersons, Stuart &
    daughter, Emily making a grand entrance.

    Nick Ward & Clifford Auld

    Among the plethora of Talbot 105s are front runners from last year, Nick Ward & Clifford Auld. Is attaching the Rally Plate really a “two man” job? On Hans Kuiper’s entry form he suggests that his Alvis was delivered in 1939 to the Glascow Police Department. I am confused. Does he mean Glasgow and, if so, do they have a “Department? I looked, unsuccessfully for a Glascow in northern mainland Europe that may more credibly have a Police Department. The plot thickens.

    Triumph Dolomite 6c

    Andy Bailey will be led by Philippa Spiller in the Triumph Dolomite 6c. His fellow imbiber, Eric Kavanagh will be behind the wheel this time, with son, John “on the maps”.

    Friendly Francis Rhatigan will have his wife, Marie alongside

    Bill Cleyndert & Jacqui Norman again hope their towrope will fulfil an ornamental role only.

    This Talbot will be Michael & Wendy Birch’s Challenge conveyance

    Martin & Olivia Hunt are part of the BMW brigade

    1937 Ford V8 Coupé

    Lorenz Imhof’s Lagonda has been experiencing engine gremlins so he and Adrian Bielser will be enjoying the comforts of a 1937 Ford V8 Coupé. I suggest that sunglasses will be an essential appurtenance for the pair.

    Martin & Lesley Neal

    Peter Little & Louise Cartledge

    Urs & Maxime Mezger

    Another BMW – this one Bertie & Charlotte Van Houttes’

    I hope that the denizens of the various metropolises/
    metropoles/metropleis which the Challenge visits will
    be as enthusiastic as those welcoming Christian & Sandra Thomi

    David Cook will have the legendary Dave Kirkham in the passenger seat. When I say legendary, I am of an age where essential reading in my youth was Motoring News. Dave, courtesy of his liaison with Mick Briant in the Navigation Road Races Rallies of that era, featured prominently, and regularly, in dispatches. Michael Cotter will have his 1923 Bentley 3/4.5 litre. He has made a shrewd move in bringing Simon Echlin as his navigator. Simon does more than read maps – he is a mechanical wizard. He could also take the wheel if Michael would prefer to enjoy the scenery. (The absence of a hydraulic handbrake might slow his gallop though.)

    Frazer Nash BMW 328

    Peter Neuman will have Andrew Hall alongside in, he hopes, his Frazer Nash BMW 328 which is scheduled to be finished a rehabilitation programme in time for the event. This car is one of just 45 RHD imported to the UK. Chassis No. 85301 was the actual car exhibited at the 1939 Earls Court motor show . First owner was Geoffrey Crossley an amateur racer and he sold it in 47 to Gilbert ‘Gillie ” Tyrer a well known privateer racer and car dealer. He had amazing success with the car winning virtually every event he entered. The car was sold in 1949 and ended up in the USA until it returned in 2005 and stayed with its owner until late 2018 when it was acquired by Peter.

    Nigel Odlum and son Matthew

    Sholto Gilbertson-Hart has deferred to his dad, Willie in the driving department. Sholto will be devoting himself to directional duties. They are bringing a 1928 Bentley 4.5 litre Tourer. David Cook will have the legendary Dave Kirkham in the passenger seat. When I say legendary, I am of an age where essential reading in my youth was Motoring News. Dave, courtesy of his liaison with Mick Briant in the Navigation Road Races Rallies of that era, featured prominently, and regularly, in despatches.

    Until next time.
    – Norbury

  • February 11, 2019

    Newsletter 4

    The C-o-C, who must be obeyed, has deemed that this edition ought to be a “special” to give you a more comprehensive flavour than heretofore of what is in store for you in May.

    My history teacher in school was nicknamed “Ghandi”, courtesy of his physiognomy rather than any pacifistic tendencies. He didn’t instill in me a lasting love of the subject – rather a fleeting flirtation. This will become all too apparent as you struggle through the historical references* in what follows. (*mostly garbled plagiarisms from the interweb) Whatever, here goes.

    Your odyssey begins in Castlemartyr, though I suspect that there will be some unforeseen episodes to be enjoyed/endured as you make your way to County Cork.

    Castlemartyr, County Cork

    Castlemartyr, County Cork

    The castle from which the village of Castlemartyr takes its name was first built in 1210 by The Knights Templar, who were one of the most famous of the Christian military orders under the leadership of Richard Earl de Clare, more commonly known as Strongbow. In the centuries that followed, the lands changed hands many times, among its owners were Sir Walter Raleigh and Richard Boyle, the first Earl of Cork. It was under Boyle’s stewardship that the construction of the magnificent Manor House took place in the 17th century. Painstakingly restored to its original grandeur, the Manor House now forms the centerpiece of the Castlemartyr Resort. Other historical features include the unique Templar Cross, which composes the centerpiece of the Castlemartyr’s Golf Club coat of arms. Following a rebellion in 1578, the Earl of Desmond James Fitzgerald had his estates forfeited to the Crown and awarded to Sir Walter Raleigh. In the more recent past, while on tour in Ireland in 1965, the Rolling Stones passed through the village on their way to play the Savoy Theatre in Cork. While Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts took tea at Mrs. Farrell’s eating house, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones had a drink across the street at Barry’s Bar.

    Moorehill

    Moorehill

    When you leave the “Resort” on Day 1, Sunday afternoon you will be connecting to the 2018 Shamrock with a visit (test and refreshments) to the Jameson girls’ Tourin House & Gardens after your first regularity takes you north along an interesting selection of roads west of the River Blackwater. Then it is across the river to David Keane’s orchard for a testing trip between the trees. Another test follows at Moorehill where Shane Maxwell runs an up-to-the-minute grass-based dairy operation. I suspect that the route will not take you through any milking parlours.

    Lismore Castle

    The Great Hall – Lismore Castle

    On the way here, you will have passed the magnificent Lismore Castle – well worth a visit if you can wangle one. I have managed to get in. The Great Hall’s stained glass windows stood out for me – in particular this pair of windows, two adjacent panes of which caught my eye. They featured Robert Boyle of Boyle’s Law fame and, maybe less well known, William Cavendish, the seventh Duke of Devonshire, who was the Chancellor of Cambridge University in the early 1850s. It was he who was responsible for the setting up of the famous Cavendish Laboratory.

    Castletown House

    Castletown House

    To get home to Castlemartyr you will have a Marked (by yourself, courtesy of some instructions) Map. You will be skirting Ballynatray which was also on last year’s itinerary. Also, the village of Mount Uniacke. The Uniacke family lived here in the 18th and 19th centuries. One of their houses, Castletown, occupied by three generations of Norman Uniacke, is not in great shape. In the mid 19th century the house was valued at £30. It was burnt in 1921 during a period when the Protestant “Ascendancy”was being beleaguered and it is no longer extant. On arrival in Castlemartyr, there will be another test of both your metal and mettle.

    Irish Distillers

    Irish Distillers

    Day 2 will begin with a rearranged reprise of the previous evening’s test before you head north for the Ballymonteen regularity which starts in what appears, on approach, to be the “middle of nowhere”. The impressive dual-carrigewayed entrance on the left is certainly a surprise. The photo reveals what is at the end of the driveway. The label on the premises is “Irish Distillers”. It is a maturation plant where whiskeys bide their time to achieve the quality which discerning tipplers like yourselves expect. The rectangles are warehouses, each surrounded by a bund so as to minimise losses in the event of a mishap – alcoholic accidents can be arresting.

    Blarney Stone

    Blarney Stone

    An uneventful run avoiding the relatively new M8 will bring you to Watergrasshill Kart World. More time than you might have expected has been allowed for this visit to give you an opportunity to study each others’ flair for persuading your steeds to adapt to an environment alien to their raison-d’êtres. On the far side of Watergrasshill the Bride’s Bridge regularity will bring you north into the foothills of the “Nagles Mountains”. Don’t let the “Bridge” in the regularity name lull you into a sense of false security – a periscope might be useful for one of the crossings of the River Bride. You will pass through Carrignavar after you finish the regularity. You might catch a glimpse of the local castle. This was built by one of the McCarthy/ Muskerry dynasty. You are on your way to a rather grander McCarthy/Muskerry residence – Blarney Castle. This is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Ireland. Its USP (“unique selling point” for those unfamiliar with the increasingly bewildering array of acronyms/abbreviations we are bombarded with daily, e.g. YSYL – “answer” at end of the Day 2 spiel) is the Blarney Stone which has to be kissed from a precarious position. I don’t think you will get the opportunity to do this but you will be fed and there will be a test. The number of visitors to the House and Gardens means that we have to be circumspect with our running of the test. The visitors tend to wander hither & thither and need to be treated as an endangered species.

    An eight mile run brings us to Dripsey for the first of the aftenoon’s regularities. The village has an idiosyncratic “claim to fame” which is its entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the shortest St. Patricks Day Parade in the World – just 26 yards.This “shortest” St. Patrick’s Day parade went from one door to the next of the village’s two pubs, The Weigh Inn and The Lee Valley. It held the record for nine years (1999-2007) until the closure of The Lee Valley Inn. Heading west you will end up on the outskirts of Macroom. From 1976 to 1982 Macroom hosted the annual Mountain Dew festival, organised by young local business people. The festivals attracted up to 20,000 attendees each year. It was the first of its kind for Ireland, and was intended to reinvigorate a town that was then stagnant economically. According to one of the organisers, Martin Fitzgerald, “the town needed a bit of “shake, rattle and roll” to tempt, not just international investors, but Irish people to rest there a bit longer – a rock concert fitted the bill”. Line-ups included Rory Gallagher, Phil Lynott, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Marianne Faithfull and Horslips.

    Just before the next regularity (Lough Allua) you will arrive in Inchigeelagh. The River Lee, which flows into the sea at Cork City passes through the village. The nearby ‘pater noster’ string of lakes collectively known as Lough Allua were once popular with anglers and are now fished for large pike, perch and some brown trout. The decline of fishing and, along with it, the fortunes of the village as a location for angling, has coincided with the loss of salmon on the River Lee. This is alleged to be a consequence of the erection of hydroelectric dams down-river between 1952 and 1957.

    Coom

    Coom

    This regularity will feature the first mountains of note. Having continued west into the Gaeltacht (the term for those regions in the country where you will find significant numbers of folk who can converse in Irish) to Ballingeary, you then head north into the Sheehy Mountains and along the route of the Fuhiry Circuit of Ireland Special Stage, to the Top of Coom – the highest pub in Ireland. (One of many to claim thus!) The link below is for a video, which was made after a refurbishment in 2014.

    From the Top of Coom (video link)

    Healy-Rae Pub

    There will be a refreshment opportunity here, after which there will be a forestry test down the road. From there it will be down along the southern bank of the Roughty River to the Kenmare road. You will follow this through Kilgarvan. This village is most notable for its pair of politicians, Michael and Danny Healy-Rae, both of whom are extremely “colourful” TDs (members of the National Parliament). Danny recently suggested that the climate change narrative was as credible as the story of Noah’s Ark. Their father was Jackie. In jig time, you will have arrived in Sheen Falls Lodge.

    YSYL – You Snooze, You Lose.

    Priests Leap

    Priests Leap

    We have a nice, gentle start to Day 3 as we head for Bantry on the main road which mirrors the meanderings of the River Sheen until Gortnagappul, where we turn off and start climbing towards the Priests Leap, Irelands highest mountain pass at 1500 ft, from Bonane in Co. Kerry to Coomhola in Co. Cork. According to local tradition, the name stems from an old legend, in which a priest, pursued by soldiers, escaped by a miraculous leap of his horse from a mountain cliff in the townland of Cummeenshrule in Co. Kerry into the townland of Killabunane in Co. Cork. Not long after passing to the west of Coomhola Mountain, you will start your first regularity. This will be a zig-zag affair, via Pierson’s Bridge, around the hinterland of Ballylickey before it finishes on the outskirts of Bantry.

    Francis O’Neill statue

    Going around Bantry and climbing again will bring you to an al fresco coffee stop in the Captain Francis O’Neill Memorial carpark before you start the Inchybegga regularity. Inchybegga’s claim to fame is its prehistoric Five Stone Circle. Francis O’Neill is more interesting. Always referred to locally as The Chief, he was a West Cork hero who championed Irish traditional music. He was born in 1848 at Tralibane. His parents had a very strong background in Irish music. Like so many of his peers he left home at the age of 16, embarking in Cork city on a sailing vessel bound for England and from there found work on other ships which took him around the world. Among his many adventures was a shipwreck while aboard the Minnehaha in the South Pacific. He was rescued by a passing ship which eventually docked in San Francisco, where he decided for the time being to stay on dry land. His journeyings took him on to Chicago, where he joined the Police Force in 1873. At that time 40,000 residents of the city were Irish: by 1900 there were over a quarter of a million there: a huge reservoir of Irish music for Francis to garner – something he revelled in. All through his adult life he collected and wrote down tunes.

    Hollybrook

    Hollybrook

    The regularity finishes just north of Skibberreen at Hollybrook House where Morgan Teige Gerald The O’Donovan, a solicitor, now lives, with his family. His father, Morgan Gerald Daniel The O’Donovan was chief of one of the leading families of the old Gaelic nobility. Dan’s mother inherited Hollybrook. For the far-flung O’Donovans, it was a historic place to stay. From browsing the internet, they learned some of their ancient origins, and that, even after the fall of the Gaelic order, they were one of the few Irish families of Carbery and Munster still recognised by the English to be of royal extraction. No doubt they even learned The O’Donovan’s name in Irish: Murchadh Gearóid Dónal Ó Donnabháin. Dan’s younger daughter, Mary is married to Francis Chamberlain, grandson of former British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain. Your first test of the day will take place here.

    Skibberreen is celebrated for its local newspaper, the Skibberreen Eagle which signalled its cosmopolitan aspirations. This was typified on 5th September, 1898 when the following editorial appeared: “We will still keep our eye on the Emperor of Russia and on all such despotic enemies, whether at home or abroad, of human progression and man’s natural rights.” The Skibbereen Eagle is no longer with us, but Russia is, and the eyes of the world are still firmly fixed upon it.

    International standard croquet lawn

    Next, it’s off to Paul & Georgiana Keane’s fabulous Inish Beg for lunch and another test. A notterribly- obvious-to-the-untrained-eye feature here is an international-standard croquet lawn. I understand that this is a pretty cut-throat “game” so I suspect it would appeal to many of our competitors! Unfortunately, there won’t be time to wield any mallets. On a more historical note, Kay Summersby, who served as chauffeur and personal assistant for General Eisenhower while he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in London, was born at Inish Beg house in 1908. There was a scurrilous suggestion that the relationship might have been closer than the public were led to believe.

    After this, it’s back the way we came for a bit, then along the N71 to Ballydehob and on to the Mt. Gabriel regularity which starts just short of Schull. Mt. Gabriel is 407m high. From the summit there are views south over Schull Harbour and Long Island Bay. To the east and southeast, the views take in Roaring Water Bay and its many islands, popularly known as Carbery’s Hundred Isles (not a salad dressing). North and west is a view of the mountains of the Beara Peninsula and South Kerry. The Fastnet Rock is situated approximately 18 km to the South, and is visible in fine weather.

    Air India Memorial

    Air India Memorial

    The village of Durrus separates the end of this challenge and the beginning of the next one – The Goat’s Path regularity. This explores a selection of byways on the Sheep’s Head peninsula. I hope that no other farmyard animals will impinge on your endeavours. The Goat’s Path would seem to be somewhat nebulous and is used to describe any, or all, routes from Skibberreen to Bantry via Ahakista. This regularity certainly uses many of the roads defined thus. It is worth noting that no matter on which of these you choose to travel, you will not be disappointed from a scenic point of view. Discernment will be required if you wish to minimise penalties. If you fancy yourself as a celebrity spotter keep an eye out for BBC chatshow host (and author), Graham Norton who has a home in Ahakista. On a more sombre note, also in Ahakista is a memorial garden and sundial that honour the memory of the victims of the 1985 Air India disaster. The Boeing 747 was blown up by a bomb at an altitude of 9,400 m and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, while in Irish airspace, with the loss of all 329 people on board.

    Bantry Gate

    Bantry Gate

    After the regularity, there is a relaxed run along the northern side of the peninsula to Bantry House for a test and some refreshments. Originally built in the early 18th century, Bantry House has been owned and occupied by the White family (formerly Earls of Bantry) since the mid-18th century. Opened to the public since the 1940s, the house, estate and gardens are a popular tourist destination. You will be using the new entrance on arrival but will depart via this more interesting gate.

    Taking the main road north from Bantry, you will pass through Ballylickey before heading for the hills once more. This time you will have the opportunity to enjoy another former Circuit of Ireland Special Stage – Borlin. There will be a test at Letter Lower just five miles before you arrive back at Sheen Falls.

    Tunnel

    The Beara peninsula will be your playground for Day 4. A heartwarming drive over the Caha Mountains will bring you to Glengariff. Remind yourself of the location of your headlights switch before you set off. Battle will commence on the Trafask regularity south of Glengariff. This finishes as you approach Adrigole, which is at the beginning of what should be one of the highlights of your May meanderings – yet another Circuit of Ireland stage, the Healy Pass. This was built in 1847 to provide employment during the famine years. It’s named for Tim Healy, a politician from Cork, who served as the first governor general of the Irish Free State. Upon his retirement, Healy asked that the bridleway winding through the pass be upgraded and improved. This request was complied with and the road continues to be in good shape. At the bottom of the other side is Lauragh and, soon after that, your first test of the day in Derreen House & Gardens.

    Derreeny House

    Derreeny House

    The land around Derreen came into the ownership of the Fitzmaurice family in 1657 through Sir William Petty, physician and surveyor to Oliver Cromwell. Petty’s daughter married The Earl of Kerry whose family later became Lansdowne. Until 1856 the house was let to the McFinnan Duffs, chiefs of the local O’Sullivan clan. When the fifth Marquess of Lansdowne succeeded in 1856 he was drawn to the place and decided to make Derreen his summer home. Today the house belongs to his descendants. The garden has been constantly looked after and improved since the 1870’s making it one of the most established gardens in Ireland. One of its quirky features is the community of Derreenies. They are about 2 inches tall but are much rarer than fairies. They have only ever been seen on the Derreen Estate. The last sighting of a Derreeny was in 1855. In 2012 some clearing was done along the walks and 20 very small houses, like the one pictured, were discovered. All the houses are vacant but look like they have recently been lived in. Children in the garden have reported hearing movements in the rhododendrons as they walk along the paths.

    Eyeries and the Eagle Hill regularity beckon 20 minutes “up the road”. Eyeries was the location for the shooting of the film The Purple Taxi (1977) starring Fred Astaire, Peter Ustinov & Charlotte Rampling and also the 1998 TV series Falling for a Dancer, a dramatisation of life and love in 1930s Ireland based on the novel by Deirdre Purcell. The regularity involves another traverse of the peninsula across the Slieve Miskish Mountains ending in Castletownbere for another test and some lunch. A “different” detail of the town’s history is that the US Navy established a naval air station there in April 1918 to operate a Lighter- Than-Air (LTA) Kite Balloon base during World War I. The base’s usefulness was short-lived as it closed shortly after the First Armistice at Compiègne.

    Dunboy

    Dunboy Castle

    Your post-prandial regularity starts at the unprepossessing entrance to Dunboy Castle. The castle has been in ruins since the 1600s but there was an adjacent manor called Puxley Mansion. This had fallen into disrepair. In 1999 a consortium acquired the Dunboy Estate, planning to establish a luxury hotel in the grounds. Work eventually got going but it was never quite finished and plans to open “Dunboy Castle” in the summer of 2009 failed to materialise. Work on the project was suspended in January 2010. And so it remains, almost there, as pictured below.

    The regularity is named “Allihies”. From the Bronze Age the Allihies had been a site of coppermining. In 1812 John Lavallin Puxley, the same family as mentioned above, established a company to operate the Berehaven copper mines at Allihies. During the following 100 years, 297,000 tons of ore were recorded as passing through the smelter at Swansea in Wales from the mines at Allihies. Three ruined Cornish engine houses are visible from Allihies. The most Shamrock Vintage Challenge 2019 visually prominent is the Mountain Mine main engine house, located on the skyline above the village.

    You will be passing through more mining territory as you make your way to Eyeries for the final regularity. This will take you on a coastal loop to Ardgroom, which you visited already today.

    Bunaw

    Bunaw

    More step retracing – it is amazing how different the view is when you are travelling in the opposite direction not to mention the sun/earth (it will be shining throughout the event) having changed relative positions – to Derreen which we pass by en route to the final test in Bunaw. There will be refreshments there to fortify you for your drive back to the Sheen Falls.

    – Norbury

  • December 12, 2018

    Newsletter 3

    I mentioned our “Magee” support in Newsletter 2. This time I would like to acknowledge the backing being provided by Robert Glover, who, much to his chagrin, will not now be able to take part. The good news is that Sholto Gilbertson of Bonhams has managed to locate an homologated pre-war baby seat and will be joining us. We have another benefactor on board for the event. Anthony Tindal with his eponymous Wine Merchants has been persuaded to offer support.

    Bantry House and Gardens

    M&M have been out and about again. M&M are, of course, C-o-C Michael and his muse, the Machiavellian Mickey. Even though both have sweet temperaments, they are not to be confused with the more usual interpretation of M&M. In 1941, Forrest Mars Sr., of the Mars candy company, struck a deal with Bruce Murrie, son of famed Hershey president William Murrie, to develop a hard-shelled colorful button-shaped chocolates branded as “M&Ms”. After another couple of days in the scenic south west they have identified sufficient test locations and regularity routes to keep you entertained. Indeed, so diligent have they been that some culling may have to be done so as to avoid keeping you up too late!

    Bantry House and Gardens aerial view

    There is a gathering consensus that classic Circuit of Ireland special stages like Borlin and the Tim Healy Pass should be free driving sections. This will give you a choice: meander and enjoy the view or motor on in a bid to emulate the stage rally heroes of yore. A happy medium is recommended. Without revealing too much, there will be tests at Castlemartyr, am and pm. Also, at the stunning Bantry House, where afternoon tea will give you a caffeine boost for the driving challenge.

    You probably hoped that I might forget about Pascal – I’m sorry to have to disappoint you. Incidentally, the “solution” to the second of the last Newsletter’s posers was compromised by the transition from my pdf submission to whatever arcane “language” our web guru employs. The “20 21 22 23 24 25” ought to have appeared as “20 21 22 23 24 25”. The first revelation this time is mundane, I will concede.

    Paul and Georgiana Keane’s fabulous Inish Beg will also be on the agenda.

    Just to keep you guessing and maybe inspiring some of the more enthusiastic navigators to do some detective work, below are two images which might be relevant to proceedings.The Entry List is now full. If any casual readers of this epistle are keen to compete, there is a Reserve List to which your name can be added on receipt of a completed Entry Form.

    The C-o-C has been shopping recently. He has acquired a robotic vacuum cleaner so he can spend more time getting everything right for you without compromising domestic hygiene standards – these are as lofty as all of his other norms. As with most, if not all panaceas, there is a side-effect. The machine demands that Michael’s wifi is exclusively at its beck and call while working. So, if attempts to contact Michael are fitful, you can rest assured that his and Mary’s house is spotless. PS The dogs are not too impressed with with the newcomer. A few of you have apprised us of “Dietary Requirements”. I would like to remind you, I suspect unnecessarily for the informed imbibers amongst you – a majority? – that whisky is “Scotch” and whiskEy is “Irish”.

    You may have noticed that our Supreme Leader, Shane isn’t mentioned much in dispatches. This is not because his input is less worthy than others. Rather it is because of its ephemeral nature – it is difficult to write about “encouraging” exchanges with prospective competitors and establishing fruitful connections with memorable places to visit. His contribution, no less than the other principals, is invaluable.

    – Norbury

    Once again, I have some traveling companion snippets for your edification.

    John and Catherine Hickman’s Bentley

    John & Catherine Hickman

    John Hickman is a semi-retired chartered surveyor and property developer, once a developer. His wife, Catherine, is an historian as well as keen mother and grandmother. John enjoys other vintage and veteran cars. The Bentley has no history of importance but runs jolly nicely!

    The Rakers’ Ford Model A

    John & Melinda Raker

    The Rakers’ Ford Model A has taken part in the 2010 Peking-Paris, 2013 Buenos Aires-Ushuaia, Paris-Madrid, Paris-Vienna and the Tourais Irish rally. John & Melinda, when rallying, are usually in the picnic basket/gardening category although Betty Ford was second to a Bugatti on the speed tests on the Tourais rally and fourth in the Benjafield Bentley Stubble Racing Day.

    1933 TD 8966

    Goodwin Family

    TD 8966 is an original bodied car from 1933. Built by McKenzies, it raced at Brighton, Donington and the RAC Rally in 1939. It has a D-type box from the first original Blower Bentley. It was restored in 2018 by William Medcalf. The Goodwins have competed in many rallies including the Flying Scotsman, 1000 Mile Trial, Rally of the Incas, the Baltic Classic and the Himalayan Challenge.

    Vincent Fairclough’s MG TC

    Vincent Fairclough

    Vincent Fairclough has competed in his MG TC on many rallies since 1993 including the Peking to Paris, Rally of the Incas, Monte Carlos, Le Jogs, Winter Trials etc. Vicky has been navigating since 1998 on Classic Marathons, Liege-Rome-Liege, Flying Scotsman etc.

    Detlef Heyer’s Frazer Nash-BMW

    Detlef Heyer

    Detlef Heyer’s Frazer Nash-BMW was built in September/October 1938 and delivered to A.F.N. Limited, Falcon Works in London. It was first registered in November 1938 to Mr C.B. Cave of Warwickshire. According to the records of John Giles, the UK BMW specialist, there were only 19 FNBMW 327/28 Coupes ever built – only 9 still exist. This particular car was used after WW2 for Hillclimbs and Speed Trials in the UK. Detlef bought the car in 2012 from J.R. Stokes in Ipswich who had owned the car for the previous 24 years. In 2013 Fa. Feieraben, Wuerzburg, Germany did a full overhaul. Since then it has performed well in many international rallies.

    1931 Lagonda 3-litre

    Roland & Helen Frey

    Roland & Helen Frey have discovered logistical hurdles since the last Newsletter and will now be bringing their 1931 Lagonda 3-litre.

    Talbot AV105s

    Boland Family

    It is great to have the full complement of Bolands back again. In Talbot AV105s are Andrew & Ann, pictured above (courtesy of Gerard Brown), Anthony & Orla and Jim & Mary. Diarmaid & Fiona will be in a Talbot 110.

    Urs & Susanne Müller’s Bentley

    Urs & Susanne Müller

    Urs & Susanne Müller are bringing their Bentley -details below. After the takeover by Rolls Royce in 1931 no Bentley racing cars were built anymore. There was a strict No Motorsport policy. E. Hall, a well known English driver, begged Rolls Royce for three years to produce a racing car and eventually they gave in. For the 1934 season W.O. Bentley at RR constructed two cars for him. The body was built by Abbott of Farnham who were also responsible for the contemporary Alfa Romeos and Lagondas (the rear ends look similar). The specifications of the car are:

    • Year of construction 1934
    • Engine capacity 3850 cc
    • Power 155 PS
    • Weight 1250 kg
    • Tank capacity 156 l
    • Brakes 4 Drums

    This information was translated aus Deutsch by my son’s brother-in-law, Carsten.

    The second Pascal disclosure is, I’m sure you’ll agree, more interesting. Yes! Next time you are in for an even more fascinating treat as we will be looking at the ALMOST DIAGONALS

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