With the rain clouds finally drying out and the sun making itself felt, hopes are high for decent weather over the May Bank Holiday weekend. And what an amazing choice of events there is, with every part of the country catered for. Here, we take a closer look at just some of them.
By Andrew Pollock, Editor
One of the biggest and best-known events taking place this weekend is the May Day Steam Rally at Shane’s Castle in Co. Antrim, which takes place in beautiful surroundings and attracts a massive turnout from all over the island. From steam engines and old-time working displays to fairgrounds and animal farm, it’s a great event for all ages. Taking place on Sunday the 5th and Monday the 6th, more information can be found at www.shanescastlesteamrally.co.uk.
Another weekend-long event taking place on the opposite end of the island is the Wexford Sports & Classic Car Club’s car show on Sunday the 5th, based on the quays in New Ross beside the Dunbrody famine ship. On Monday the 6th will follow a road run in aid of the RNLI, with registration on the quays from 10am; for more details, see the Facebook page of the Wexford Sports & Classic Car Club.
An event that’s been building in popularity since its introduction a few years ago is the vintage rally held at the Castleinch car boot sale venue on the Callan Road in Kilkenny; this year’s takes place on Monday the 6th, with plenty of exhibits and traders planning to make the trip. For more details, see the Castleinch Venue page on Facebook.
A long-running show that needs little introduction to many enthusiasts in the south of the country is the Clonmel Veteran, Vintage & Classic Car Club’s annual event at Powerstown Park racecourse, on the outskirts of Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. Preceded by a road run on Saturday the 4th, the main static show takes place on Sunday the 5th, and comes highly recommended. For updates, see the Clonmel Veteran, Vintage & Classic Car Club page on Facebook.
Moving up the country, another very highly-regarded show is that run by the Shamrock Car & Machinery Club each year at the excellent venue of the Hamlet Court Hotel in Johnstownbridge, Co. Kildare, which has the added bonus of plenty of indoor space to house the event’s model displays. This year’s takes place on Monday the 6th, and more information can be found on the Shamrock Car & Machinery Club’s Facebook page.
Hosting the IVETA All-Ireland Rally this year, the Kiltulla & District Vintage Club’s ever-popular autojumble takes place in Kiltulla, Co. Galway on Saturday the 4th, followed on Sunday the 5th by their show and family fun day. This is shaping up to be a busy weekend out with plenty of vintage and classic machinery to peruse, as well as lots of jumble to rummage through; for more details, call 087 1499688.
A quite new event that’s small but very high quality is Cars at the Cathedral, held on the grounds of St Mary’s Cathedral in Limerick City on Saturday the 4th. This event has already attracted some amazing machinery in its short life including a Lamborghini Miura and McLaren F1, so it’s always worth a look; for more details, see the event’s Facebook page.
Elsewhere, the Leinster branch of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club returns to the National Event Centre in Swords, Co. Dublin on Sunday the 5th, which has been greatly anticipated as this indoor show was formerly an excellent way to kick off the motorcycle show calendar in an indoor setting. The ever-active Celtic Old Vehicle Owners Club hold their long-running Norman Pratt Memorial Run on the same day, based this year at the Headfort Hotel in Kells, and Sunday also sees the Gorey Cars & Coffee meet take place at the Tesco Extra car park in the town from 10am to 1pm. Besides this there are many other runs and gatherings taking place all over the island, as listed below, so as always we’d ask you to support one (or two) where you can, as most are held in aid of great causes and take a lot of effort to host by the organisers. Wherever you go this weekend, be safe on the road, and we hope you have an enjoyable bank holiday.
OTHER EVENTS
3rd & 4th May: Killyman Motorcycle & Car Show, Church of Ireland Hall, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone
3rd to 5th May: 44th Galway Classic Motorcycle Rally, based at Clifden Station House Hotel
4th to 6th May: Ballincollig Vintage Motor Club weekend away to West Cork Hotel, Skibbereen
5th May: Northern Ireland Vauxhall Opel Club meet at Junction One Retail Park, Antrim
5th May: Garden of Ireland Vintage Car Club trip to South County Fishing Resort, Carlow
6th May: The DeCourcey Vintage Club car and tractor run from Ballinspittle, Co. Cork
6th May: Millstreet Vintage Club cars & coffee meet at Mallow GAA Complex, Co. Cork from 10.30am to 3pm