Celebrating The Wonderful Automotive History of Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day!

Mar 17, 2022

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day from all of us here at Classic Auto Group! Today we’re celebrating by highlighting some wonderful facts about Ireland’s automotive history! And when you’re fully in the spirit o’ the holiday, we’ve included lots of local pubs and restaurants to visit or some recipes you can make to enjoy Irish meals at home.

Fast Facts About Famous Irish Race Car Drivers

Derek Patrick Daly is an Irish-American race car driver who drove competitively for 17 years and participated in 64 World Championship formula one grand prix races in his career.
Eddie Jordan was not only a race car driver who won the Irish Kart Championship in 1971, but he was the founder and owner of Jordan Grand Prix Formula One from 1991-2005.
Tommy Byrne is a former race driver fro Irland, participating in two Formula One Grands Prix races in 1982, raced in the Irish Formula Ford Championship in 1981, and won the 1982 British Formula 3 Championship.
Ryan Smith is an Irish racing driver who drove in the British Formula Ford Championship in 2012, the GP3 Series in 2014, and currently competes in the European Le Mans Series races.
Oliver O’Donovan is an Irish Rallycross Driver who currently competes in the FIA European Rallycross Championships. He was previously the 2007 British Rallycross Champion.
Paddy Hopkirk won the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally. In 1968, he participated in the London-toSydney Marathon, but he and teammate Tony Nash lost the race to stop and rescue two drivers from a collision. A race car participant crashed headlong into a commuter, despite the fact that the road was to be closed to the public through traffic. Hopkirck and Nash pulled both drivers to safety and returned to the race site to warn other drivers and call for help.
Martin Birane is the owner of Mondello Race track, and also a former race car driver who won the GT class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1985. He also set the Irish land speed record in 1990, going 176mph!

If you’re looking to visit Ireland and explore the racing culture in person, you might want to check out these wonderful tracks and locations: Mondello Park in Naas, Tipperary Raceway in Rosegreen, Kirkistown Racing Circuit in Newtownards, Carlow Autograss Club in Leinster, ALMC Motor Club Limited in Drogheda, Nutts Corner Raceway in Crumlin, Bishopscourt Racing Circuit in Downpatrick.

Fun Facts About Driving and Cars in Ireland:

It is prohibited to use your car horn between 11:30PM and 7AM.
The minimum age for a driver’s license in Ireland is 17 years old.
The Alesbury was the first Irish Car; it had solid tires, a 10 horsepower engine, debuted in Dublin in 1907, but was discontinued just one year later in 1908.
The Shamrock was an ill-fated Irish dupe of the classic American Cruiser of the 1950s, failing to achieve peak sales and manufacturing output due to poor handling, awkward aesthetics, and weak 53 horsepower engine. The Shamrock was only manufactured for one year due to its poor design and drive capabilities (too large for UK motorways, and too slow for American roads.) The owner built a 40,000 square foot factory in County Monaghan, and planned to make 3,000 cars per year but sadly less than 12 were made total; only 3 of them made it to the US.
John DeLorean received over $130 million dollars to build upwards of 9000 DeLorean DMC-12s in Dunmurry, Ireland. Sadly, the cars had many quality control issues since many of the employees at his manufacturing facility had never worked in automotive before.
Electric vehicles are catching on worldwide, and Irish manufactured/designed ALEX eRoadster is aiming to take their crack as an industry competitor.
Ford Motor Company opened in Ireland over 100 years ago, manufacturing models such as the Prefect, Escort, and Sierra on site; it continued to manufacture sedans there until 1984.

Now that we’ve got you all excited about celebrating Irish accomplishments and achievements in automotive history, why not paint the town green at these local establishments? And if you prefer to celebrate at home, we’ve also rounded up some of our recommended reacipes tha are easy ot make in a pinch.

Great Bars and Pubs to Visit Today and Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day:

Wholesome St Patrick’s Day Recipes to Make At Home with Your Family:

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