Recent weeks have been very busy for the club in planning the Spring Event for pre-war cars and the IVVCC Festival of Transport in Punchestown and the Gordon Bennett which is just around the corner on 9-11th June.

We held our AGM on Sunday 9th April and as only one nomination was received for the board vacancies, John Peart was duly elected to the 2017 board. Following the AGM it was necessary to co-opt two new members and we are delighted to announce that Myles O’Reilly and Tom Callanan have now joined the board of the IVVCC.

The following are the current board members:
President: Shane Houlihan
Hon. Secretary: Peadar Ward
Hon. Treasurer: Sean Carolan

Tom Callanan; Michael Duff; Clive Evans; Tom Farrell; Declan Grogan; Myles O’Reilly; John Peart; Tom Sheridan; Bernadette Wyer

SPRING EVENT FOR PRE-WAR CARS
We were very happy with an entry of 52 pre-war cars on this event and although Saturday was very cold in some exposed places, we were very lucky with a beautiful day on Sunday 7th May. The cars converged from north and south, east and west of the country and met up to see Leslie Byrne’s very interesting mechanical/antiques collection at Kilkenny Gates outside Castlecomer. The convoy headed for the Pembroke Kilkenny Hotel where all the cars were safely parked in the very secure hotel car park. We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink on the roof top of the Pembroke and enjoyed the wonderful view of Kilkenny Castle and the surrounding city.

The cars set off on Sunday morning and headed for Kells village where we had the opportunity in the morning sunshine to enjoy the restored mill and the craft market that had some interesting stalls before continuing our journey to the round tower at Tullaherin and then back again to Kilkenny where we were allowed park on the new Parade ground just below the Castle. We returned to the Pembroke for lunch before departing for the four corners after a very enjoyable event.

IVVCC FESTIVAL OF TRANSPORT IN PUNCHESTOWN
On Sunday 14th May many of our affiliate clubs and other transport organisations were very much in evidence at this event which was intended to bring our members, affiliates and other forms of transport together in one place. The Super Cars displayed at the front of the building and the Brass Cars and Model T cars were appreciated by the many members of the public who came to view the show. The MG Enthusiasts Club had an impressive display of cars, as did the Garden of Ireland, Celtic Old Vehicles and Ballinakill Clubs in the indoor area. The Blessington Club members were located in the large forecourt outside the main hall, as were many others who came along on the day. The traders and autojumble stalls were located in an adjoining pavilion and it was encouraging that so many members of the public came along on the day to view the range and variety of historical transport on the day. 

We are really appreciative of all the support we received from the affiliates and members to ensure the smooth running of this very important event and we have had some excellent feedback about the day.

INTERNATIONAL GORDON BENNETT RALLY

Plans are well in hand for the 2017 Gordon Bennett and all entrants will receive full information about the event before the 9th June. We are back in the varied countryside surrounding Mount Wolseley Hotel in Tullow, Co. Carlow this year and look forward to seeing many regular entrants and indeed some new entrants, both from Ireland and overseas for this prestigious event.

PICNIC IN MARLAY PARK
The RIAC and TR Register are organising the Picnic in Marlay Park this year in support of the Lauralynn Foundation and our IVVCC members have always enjoyed this event which has been running for over 10 years. We would encourage our members to attend the event on Wednesday 14th June.