Gordon Bennett film screening brings more stories

Pat Goulding and Gerry McCormick.

A recollection of a local commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Gordon Bennett race was one of the stories related yesterday on the second afternoon of screening a documentary about the race in Kilcullen Heritage Centre, writes Brian Byrne.

Pat Goulding, a longtime veteran car enthusiast, told how in 2003 he and some others re-enacted one leg of the race, even to setting out from Ballyshannon at 7am, which was the starting time of the original 1903 event. "We must have had about 20 cars, and we stopped for breakfast in Carlow, then came around by Stradbally and then came back up," he remembered. He was travelling with Keith Pearson in Keith's Rover. "It was quite a novelty starting out so early."

Pat also mentioned the story of a local man, Nick Quinn, who was born on the day of the race and was reputed to have been given the full name of Nicholas Gordon Bennett Quinn. "It would be nice to find out if that was actually true," he mused, recalling that Nick later lived at Convent View on the Newbridge Road in Kilcullen, and worked for the Cross and Passion sisters.

A steady stream of people came through the afternoon to see the documentary How Ireland Saved Motorsport, made by Bailey and Blake Productions in association with the Heritage Offices of Kildare, Carlow and Laois. They included Liam Walker with his daughter Niamh and grandson John, and Alan and Fionnuala Dukes. 

The half-hour presentation will be screening again on a loop between 2.30pm and 5pm this afternoon and tomorrow, and everyone is welcome to the free Heritage Week event.

(The Diary's linked spreadsheet of Heritage Week events through County Kildare can be accessed here. They are tabulated both by town and by date.)

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