IVVCC Golden Jubilee Tour

Thinkingaboutit

I've come back from the IVVCC Golden Jubilee Tour, and travelled with my parents. My Dad did half the driving, and the car was my 1971 Wolseley 16/60. There was some preparation for my car. First, the basics of checking petrol, oil, water and lights. Nearly all the lights not working like on the indicator stalk were a matter of new bulbs, but for one or two like the badge, the wire was making a poor contact. Rathgar Motor Factors were excellent for the little bits and pieces needed.

The start of the Tour was Castletown House Kildare on Friday. The cars parked in front of Castletown House and the tourers registered in a little room off the corridor to the cafe. It was an impressive scene. Each car was given a little board to affix to the grille or some other suitable part of the car. My car still had the tour board from last year, and so that was swapped for the new one. My Dad doublechecked the levels. MGB owners generally fixed the board on places like the bumper as the board blocked off a bit too much of the grille. It was good to meet the other people going on the tour. An excellent road book gave the route for each day step by step. At each hotel stop an engrave Dublin Crystal cup was presented. I hope to use them, and need to remember to keep them well away from dishwashers.

The first stage of driving was 124 kms or 77 miles from there to Hodson Bay for a meal. Two roads, the R148 and R446 made up most of that. Roads like this are far more interesting, and give a little bit of challenge. One notable site was Aughrim battlefield, site of the 1691 battle of the Williamite Wars. Hodson Bay Hotel is good for a meal, but that's the place where someone nicked a nice TT Anniversary helmet of mine some years ago:(. One minor hiccough was that a maroon and parchment Bentley wouldn't start (I can't find it in the Tour Book). The owner had spared no expense on this fine 1930s car. It transpired a little later that the accelerator pedal had to be pumped a few times to start. It was his first long run with the car, and otherwise it didn't give trouble.

After Hodson Bay, there was a short 50 mile run to Raheen Woods Hotel in Athenry, Galway. The old N6, R446 nd R349 were the routes taken. The hotel was excellent and Athenry with its medieval walls and ecclesiastical remains was well worth a walk.

Day 2 from Athenry to the Malton Hotel, Killarney through the Burren was a long drive. The distance was 225 kilometres or 149 miles. Most of the route was along the N67 and N22, and the portion through the Burren was certainly scenic, although the road was a little too narrow to allow me to take in too much of stoney landscape. Dunguaire Castle, Kinvara was a fine site, although I didn't risk taking the stairway up as I'm not yet walking too well. Part of that journey though the Corkscrew hillclimbs in Ballyvaughan wasn't open to the tour, so that route was changed a little. I was lucky to be told of the change of route in a petrol station on the way, saving a wasted journey. I stopped a little later. Crossing the Shannon between Killimer and Tarbert provided a good chance to take some photos of large portion of the cars on the run. Appropriately, the 1910 Sunbeam, numbered 1 in the Road book was at the head of the cars awaiting the ferry. John B Keane's Listowel was a fine sight, but my parents and I didn't stop, as there was much road to travel. The Malton Hotel, the former Great Southern and the nearby Friary meant a pleasant spot.

Day 3 on Sunday was interesting. There were two options. One, A, was roughly sixty miles around the N70 Ring of Kerry. The second one, B, was a shorter but equally scenic journey through the Gap of Dunloe and R568 and finally through Moll's Gap and the N70 to Kenmare. The restaurant and shop at Moll's Gap provided an excellent lunch. Also we met two members of an affiliated Kerry club. One had a Mini Cooper Convertible, imported and in immaculate condition and the other had a Cork registered Mercedes 200 (I think) from the same era. My choice was the first option, but at some point either myself or my Dad took a wrong turn that led us to some point in Iveragh Peninsula. After some checking on the phone map, not helped by a poor signal, the Wolseley headed to Cahirciveen and the main road, the N70.

Day 4 was a journey from Killarney to Garryvoe, near Ballycotton.

This day was a little different. The weather was drizzly and meant a scenic stage was proved not to be suitable for me and some others. First there was a fairly ordinary journey along the N22, followed by a turn off for the R569. First stop would be the Mitchell family's Kilgarvan motor museum. The father, the son and another enthusiast who helps with the museum were there, although the father had to leave for some minor medical treatment. Cars ranged from a BMW Isetta bubble car to Rileys and Rolls Royces and some motorbikes too. There was some great coffee and the entry fee was slight for the great collection there. Among the last of the group to leave was my car, Camillus and Jacinta Ryan's 1937 Riley Kestrel 16/4, and 1938 Riley Big Four carrying Reg Plunket, Mike Dennehy and Peter McIllwaine. There was a bit of drizzle falling and the scenic mountain route therefore looked a good deal less interesting. The three cars led by Camillus's Riley took a simpler route back to the N22, then the N25 through Waterford, then turning in Castlemartyr to the R332, and R629. Both those cars of the 1930s would have usually had a single rear light making a big Riley indistinguishable at night from a motorbike. Both Rileys had a pair of brake lights fitted at some point in their life. Reg's Riley had the semaphore indicators working while Camillus's just had indicators in the back lights for now.

My parents had visited the impressive Ballyvoe hotel before for a cousin's wedding. Overall a fine hotel marred a little by long corridors and slow service at some points. The location was marred a little by plentiful mobile homes, and there some sort of slight smell at the beach. Overall, though, it was a great location. The speech at the end of the meal was interesting, and more interesting still was talking with, and learning from other members. Camillus suggested a Champion N9y instead of N5, another very long time member suggested straight oil instead of lead additive.

A funeral and AGM later that Tuesday forced myself, Mam and Dad to miss the final dinner in Kilkenny although Bernadette Wyer will hold the last glass for us. Most of day 5 was spend on the N9 at a steady 50-55 mph although there was a brief indicated 70 mph to pass a lorry with smelly fumes from it.

Working the evening before to get things right.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Mercedes 200 in Moll's Gap, Cork reg but owned by a Kerryman.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Kilgarvan Museum



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Waiting to cross the ferry



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Parents in front of Dunguaire Castle



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Slightly troublesome Bentley with Lancaster behind it.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

My car at Garryvoe



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Somewhere in the Ring of Kerry, well a bit off it.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Reg Plunket's Riley Big Four

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I'll put up some more pictures later.

johnk123

Nice report. You should submit it for publication in the IVVCC journal thingy

Thinkingaboutit

johnk123 wrote: »

Nice report. You should submit it for publication in the IVVCC journal thingy

Ya, I could do that, and I can also flesh it out a bit more. Imageshack seems to lose some of my uploads, and there's no naked women in any of them.