It will be a sight to behold on the weekend of Saturday 6th of July when up to sixty original Ford Model T cars will cruise around Dundalk and across the county as part of the Irish Model T Ford Club’s Annual Run.
Affectionately known as the ‘Tin Lizzie’, Henry Ford’s car dominated the mass market for almost twenty years with 15 million units sold between 1908 and 1927. The Model T was so popular Henry Ford once said: “There’s no use trying to pass a Ford, because there’s always another one just ahead.” By the early 1920s more than half of the registered automobiles in the world were Fords.
Ireland and the Ford Model T have deep bonds given the fact Henry Ford’s parents were both from Co. Cork. Henry honoured his parents legacy by insisting that the first manufacturing plant to be built outside America would be locate din Cork City. The production plant in Cork produced Ford Model T cars between 1917 and 1927 and indeed the very last Model T anywhere in the world was produced off the Cork production line in 1927.
However, although production of the car may have stopped in 1927 the car has lived on thanks to a number of enthusiasts all over the globe who continue to keep the name of the iconic car alive. In Ireland the Irish Model T Ford Club have been in existence for 34 years and has an active membership in excess of 130 who hail from around the whole of Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and USA. The group meet up regularly but the highlight of their calendar is undoubtedly their Annual Run which sees members meet up in a different location each year for a two day rally.
This year’s Annual Run takes place in Louth with local Ford Model T owner Michael Loughran given the task of directing operations for his guests over the weekend.
Michael, who is the owner of Dundalk Radiator Services in Linenhall Street, says that he has been the proud owner of a Ford Model T for almost thirty years and he is looking forward to welcoming fellow Model T enthusiasts to the Carrickdale Hotel on Friday week.
“The last time the Annual Run came to Dundalk was in 2012 and I’m delighted that it’s back here again this summer. About sixty Model T owners will assemble at the Carrickdale Hotel on Friday July 5th and we will all be dressed in period clothes from a century ago. We’ll begin the drive on Saturday morning at 9:30 when we head for Blackrock. We’ll stop and have a cup of coffee or an ice cream there before heading for Dromiskin where we will visit the Fr. Nicholas Callan Amenity Park.
“Nicholas Joseph Callan was a pioneer in the development of electrical science; inventor of the induction coil, which led to the modern transformer. After that we will drive towards Dundalk where we will be met by the Gardaí at Xerox and they will escort us down through the town where we will do a couple of loops around the square and up Crowe St/Francis St. After that we will head for Cooley and do a tour of Carlingford before heading to Omeath and then back to the Carrickdale Hotel for a gala dinner.
“On Sunday the plan is to drive north and head for the Mourne mountains where hopefully the sun will be shining and we can show off the spectacular views we are lucky enough to have on our doorstep,” stated Michael.
“The Model T is such a brilliantly simple design and it has no water pump, no fuel pump and no water. The steel is light and the car runs so smoothly. I love mine and it’s great to meet up with the guys for days like this,” added Michael.
