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The Rolls Royce, with trademark number plate reading ZJ 5000, carrying De Valera to the funeral of former president Erskine Childers in 1974 Youtube
Youtube
EAMON DE VALERA built up an interesting relationship with his car while President of Ireland between 1959 and 1973, and by extension the state built up a relationship with the machine too.
The 1947 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith landaulette eventually became the official state car of the President after its inception that same year.
A car with large dimensions, the roomy nature of the vehicle became invaluable to de Valera as he became progressively incapacitated (and almost totally blind) towards the end of his presidency.
The Rolls Royce, on display at Aras an Uachtarán Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
De Valera died in August 1975 and the car which had come to be associated with him more than any other went into storage.
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Ten years passed and the issue of what was to be done with the vehicle remained unresolved, although it was given something of a refurbishment on the cheap in 1978.
Vultures were circling.
National Archives 2015 / 88/613
National Archives 2015 / 88/613 / 88/613
In June 1985 one Andrew M Pastouna, a classic car enthusiast who had written a feature on the car for the magazine Classic & Sportscar with the government’s assistance, made it clear that “should you dispose of the car instead of putting it into an automobile museum in the Republic, I would be very interested”.
Classic & Sportscar magazine, August 1985 Ebay
Ebay
The sale never came to pass, Mr Pastouna has since passed on, and the Rolls Royce is still the official state car of the President, although these days Michael D Higgins prefers the use of a classic Mercedes.
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Another reminder that the children’s hospital is being built in the wrong location. Every time there is an accident on the M50 roads into Dublin cannot manage the level of traffic.
No doubt caused by some muppet hammering up the outside/city lanes and then nipping in to go northbound. We need to start a campaign to not let queue jumpers in.
@Michael Walsh: We are not dying. We’re generally quite happy that we don’t have to become a slave to make a living. Who cares about the septic tank that is Dublin? See…same question.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: As a Dub myself id agree. Dublin is grinding to a standstill as we repeat the mistakes of the Celtic tiger years and continue to vote for political organisations who have their and not the nation as a whole best interests at heart.
Tailgating is the problem. Its amazing cars doing 140kph tailgating just 1 metre behind the car in front. Amazing breaking system they must have to avoid a crash if the car in front suddenly breaks. KEEP YOUR DISTANCE. 1m for every 2kph. Eg a car must leave 200 metres distance at 100 kph.
@Brendan Mason: 1m for every 2kph? Therfore using your formula travelling around 100kph should have a gap of 50m not 200m. Anyway if anyone left a gap of 200m on an Irish motorway they’d be flashed at (lights) and abused by other road users.
@Brendan Mason: The accident happened close to the Luas car park junction before the M50. Given the time of morning the accident occurred, and it being a Monday which is probably the busiest morning of the week anyway, it’s virtually an impossibility that cars were traveling at 140kph, or anywhere remotely close to that speed.
@Brendan Mason: I drive as part of my job and find that if you do leave a gap to the car in front then you’ll always have a gimp who will try to squeeze their car into that gap meaning you have to jam on the breaks
@Brendan Mason: 1mtr behind a car in front driving at 140kmh? Bit of an exaggeration don’t you think. Most drivers wouldn’t be able to judge 60, 80,100mtrs. Little tip – if you are overtaking in the out most lane try keep right of centre of your lane. You will be able to see the break lights of the second car in front.
@Brendan Mason: if you keep the right distance some mope jumps in in front of you that cuts your distance your bolloxed then . This happens very often rant over
For a lot of tech companies e.g. Facebook, Dell, Amazon, people can work from home quite a bit. With some planning you dont need mega-speed broadband either. Can’t help but think some of these businesses could make the leap to commuter towns and beyond. Clonakility has a multinational, the workers have houses, sea-air, little traffic and are 30 mins from Cork for a bit of life, and the airport also. Not ignoring the lack of routes currently available, but if more large towns within 60 mins of Galway, Limerick and Cork were utilised, how much better would life be for people? It will only take one big tech company to lead the way.
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