GREAT DRIVES:Until the 1960s, "hillclimbing" was a popular motorsport in the countryside, with the Dublin and Wicklow mountains proving a welcome retreat from the capital, writes BOB MONTGOMERY
DOWN THE years, the mountains of Dublin and Wicklow have been a playground for Dubliners.
Motorists have toured there since the first introduction of cars into Ireland and, of course, still do. This area has also been a playground for motorists of a more sporting bent and has provided many of this country’s most famous motorsport venues.
Surprisingly for some, three of the most famous hillclimb venues are within a very short distance of the city suburbs, and although no longer in use for sporting competition, all are easily identifiable during a short drive starting out from Rathfarnham.
Before we explore them, a few short words about hillclimbs and their origin. It was probably inevitable that as soon as man invented the motor car, he would find ways of creating motorised competition.
In the earliest days of motoring, these competitions took two formats. One was the great city-to-city races begun at a time when a journey of any distance completed successfully was an achievement, while the other was the sport of hillclimbing. Hillclimbing was a natural development of motor competition, as it tested the ability of early cars to climb gradients and over time developed into the very specialised form of motorsport it is today.
Starting our short exploration of some of Dublin’s hillclimb venues, we set off along the R115 starting from Rathfarnham. The R115 branches to the right at the roundabout at Ballyboden and then continues towards Killakee. The Mount Venus Hillclimb first used the piece of road marked on our map in 1958, a different configuration having been used pre-war. The event was organised by the very active Dublin University Motor Cycle and Light Car Club. Mount Venus was very popular with competitors and was a highlight of the competition calendar in both a sporting and a social sense.
Although the Mount Venus Hillclimb was run after the war, its days were numbered as the city suburbs came closer and closer and local landowners objected to the annual influx of spectators and competitors. As a result, the club moved to a new venue at Kilternan, more of which shortly.
Continuing along the R115 to Killakee, a left turn will take us down on to our second hillclimb venue, Cruagh. In truth, to travel Cruagh in the correct direction we have to travel down its length to the junction with the R116.
From there the Hillclimb started about 90 metres up the road back towards Killakee and featured the infamous Devil’s Elbow hairpin corner. Cruagh continued until more recent times and was a popular and exciting venue much liked by competitors, including this writer, who competed there on several occasions.
Returning to the junction with the R116, we continue along this scenic road through the village of Glencullen towards Kilternan.
Along this road, running down to the outskirts of Kilternan, was the third venue of our exploration, the Kilternan Hillclimb – run, like Mount Venus and Cruagh, by the Dublin University Motor Cycle and Light Car Club. The Kilternan Hillclimb was held, as far as my research could confirm, between 1935 and 1939, and its location is shown on the accompanying map.
Other hillclimb venues were also nearby – De Selby, Ballinascorney, Ballinaslaughter and Glendu – each with their own stories, but they will have to wait for another day and another exploration.
We have three copies of Bob Montgomery's Great Drives: 22 Great Irish Roadsbook to give away to the first three readers to email us at motorshelp@irishtimes.com. The book, a collection of 22 drives, is published by Dreolín, priced at €20
