A vintage €2m worth!

ADRAIC LYDEN was in Clifden for the fantastic dis play of vintage and veteran cars in the town's streets last weekend

SATURDAY 26th July was the day the Western Veteran and Vintage Motor Club came to Clifden. What a treat it was for the locals and visitors alike to view the cars of yesteryear. Clifden rose to the occasion, too, giving the Club pride of place for people to view the cars in a display that stretched along the streets from Stanley's Drapery shop on Lower Market Street, right the way round Market Square along to Declan Moran's Pharmacy at the bottom of Main Street.

ALL THE GREATS All the greats were there from all round Ireland, as well as a number of visiting vehicles from Bridgend in Wales. The old famous brands were all represented — Triumph, Wolseley, Rover, Austin, Morris, Humber, Jaguar, Rolls Royce, Ford, Chevrolet, Vauxhall and Volkswagen to name but a few. Many were household names years ago and are now forgotten - other brands have survived and still have cans in production today.

THE BEAUTY OF THE SHOW The car which attracted the most attention was the 'beauty' of the show and the oldest to visit Clifden that day. A Rolls Royce, built in 1909 and since lovingly restored to perfect condition by its present owner. Our photos show some of the wonderful detail. Another 'oldie' was a Ford Eight built in 1924 and owned by Eamon Dunne of Bray. Eamon couldn't come to Clifden without a detour along the Inagh Valley to visit his uncle, Mickey Aspell in Letterfrack. The Austin Six first graced the roads of Connemara in the early fifties, when it shared the roads with horse carts, traps, bicycles and pedestrians.

ROVING AMBASSADORS As well as welcoming the 160 cars to Clifden, the town's Chamber of Commerce also deployed Ellen McDonagh and Una Churchill as roving ambassadors. Their job also entailed looking over the complete selection of beautiful machines on display in order to award their favourite cars and their owners prizes generously sponsored by local hotels.

ELLEN & UNA'S FAVOURITE A 1950 Jaguar Mark V 2. 5 litre emerged as Ellen and Una's favourite of the show. Owned by John James of Bridgeod and regis- tered in Wales, this vehicle spent most of its working life until 1991 in California. The Mark V was an instant success for Jaguar and the combination of its new suspension and chassis gave it the handling capabilities necessary for rallying and police duties. It returned to Wales in April of this year, where the present owner purchased.

PARKING PROBLEM Congratulations must go to Seamus Bourke, President of Clifden Chamber of Commerce, and his team for a job well done. Special mention must be made of Michael Prendergast's splendid role as Master of Ceremonies for the occa- sion. To find parking for one car in Clifden in the height of the season is difficult enough. To find space for one hundred and sixty borders on the miraculous!

Фото Сергея Стрекалева.