The 44th 2019 IVVCC International Gordon Bennett got off to a good start on Friday 7^th June with a great lunch in the Killeshin Hotel in Portlaoise, followed by a meandering route to Mount Wolseley Hotel in Tullow – the event base for the weekend.

Although the Clerk of the Course mentioned soft Irish weather at our Friday evening buffet, we woke up on Saturday morning to fairly clear skies and some sunshine. When Registration opened at 7.30am the eager entrants moved rapidly through the process and generally listened attentively to the 8.30am briefing before fine-tuning their cars and giving the last minute polish to the brass lamps before setting off at, in general, their designated departure times from Mount Wolseley on their allocated routing.

The lunch stop was in the renowned town of Stradbally and, here again, despite a short threatened mini shower, many people enjoyed lunch on the town green and some local hostelries were packed to the doors with lunch seekers. 

A short sharp rain shower in the afternoon didn’t mar the enthusiasm of the entrants as they made their way back to Mount Wolseley where the worthy winners were announced at an excellent Gala Dinner.

Again, Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny as we set off for another meandering route to Newbridge Silverware where we were greeted by William Doyle and his staff and royally treated to a tour of the factory and an excellent lunch, thus bringing a successful conclusion to the 2019 event.

We would like to congratulate our worthy winners and to thank all our participants who made this another occasion to remember. We look forward to meeting you all in 2020 for the 45^thIVVCC International Gordon Bennett Rally on 5th-7th June, again based in Mount Wolseley. We also look forward to seeing some people who, for one reason or another, were unable to be with us in 2019.

Many thanks to our much appreciated sponsors for their support – Barrett Private Insurances/CHUBB and Bonhams, also our advertisers, and, in addition, the Killeshin Hotel and Mount Wolseley Hotel and staff and all the people involved in contributing in any way to this prestigious event.

Gordon Bennett Rally 2019 Photos

By Nuala Grogan

By Jim Dolan

By Mario De Rosa