From the archives of Bob Montgomery, motoring historian
DAY OF THE GODSEND: On January 25th and 26th 1898, the first long-distance journey by car in Ireland took place between Dublin and Belfast. We're fortunate to have a first-hand account of this journey by J C Percy, the editor of the Irish Wheelman magazine and a passengers on the journey.
The car was a product of the wonderfully named Great Horseless Carriage Company of Coventry. In the year of the journey they manufactured a grand total of 75 cars.
The car's driver, a Mr Andrews, and his crew set off from Grafton Street before a large crowd of bemused onlookers. As the car passed through Santry, several farmers were seen to drop their ploughs, such was their surprise, while in Swords it seemed as if the entire village had turned out.
The roads through Balbriggan and on through Julianstown to Drogheda were very bad and slowed their progress considerably. A huge crowd witnessed their arrival in Drogheda and a stop was made at the White Horse Hotel for refreshment.
While there the car got its nickname, the Godsend. This arose when a local photographer asked for the princely sum of £1/10s for taking a picture of the car and its occupants. Asked why the charge was so exorbitant, he replied: "Well, it's a bit thick, but you see it's not every day a Godsend comes to Drogheda." The jarveys of the town were loud in their abuse of what they saw as a threat to their livelihood.
Setting off again, Monasterboice was soon passed and then a slow climb up the Tullyesker Hills after which the road was reported good through Dunleer and on into Dundalk. The first day's journey ended at Williams' Hotel in the town witnessed by "an enormous crowd".
Next morning the Godsend was escorted towards Belfast by a large group of cyclists who came as far as Newry's steep hills. This part of the journey became something of a triumphant procession, with large crowds and children being let out from school to cheer and wave flags. The road from Lisburn to Dunmurray, outside Belfast, was described by the occupants as "the worst we had ever travelled over". Nevertheless, Belfast was finally reached at 3 p.m. on the second day. It was a pioneering journey which deserves to be remembered.
WHEN 'GATSO' WON THE MONTE CARLO RALLY: Familiar as we all are nowadays with "Gatso" speed cameras, it may come as a surprise to many of our readers to know that their inventor won the famous Monte Carlo Rally 50 years ago.
Maurice Gatsonides, co-driven by Peter Worledge, drove his Ford Zephyr to a win by a single second over the Jaguar Mk VII of Ian and Pat Appleyard to give Ford of Britain its first-ever Monte Carlo win, beating no fewer than 404 starters in an event that turned out to be a real test of precision driving and accurate timekeeping.
Described as "rallying's wily old character", Gatsonides took a popular and memorable win. Perhaps he would have preferred to have been remembered for that win, rather than the cameras which today bear his name.