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Between Two Worlds tells the extraordinary story of the Siamese Princes Chula and Bira who blazed a trail for Siamese athletes in the unlikely world of motor racing in the years between 1935 and 1939. With Prince Chula as his patron and Team Manager, Prince Bira developed into one of the finest drivers in Europe, continuing to race in the post-war period up until his retirement in 1955. But this is a story of much more than motor racing and their priviliged origins and lifestyle are also explored making this a fascinating account of two lives deeply intertwined.

A new book that was launched by international racing driver Alec Poole before Christmas is now available in Ireland exclusively from ourselves at Irish Vintage Scene. For those of you who may not know, Alec was born in Dublin, son of Billy Poole, owner of Booth Poole Ltd who were the importers for MG and Wolseley. Alec went to Trinity College in Dublin, where he met Paddy Hopkirk – Paddy wrote the foreword for the book, and is indeed mentioned many times throughout. These boys had some fun back in the day! 

In 1936 the Carrigrohane Circuit on the outskirts of Cork City hosted its first motor race, an event that was repeated in 1937 and became the Cork Grand Prix in 1938. The race was Ireland’s first and only race held to the International Formula. This superb circuit with its daunting Carrigrohane Straight produced several memorable races.

The RAC Tourist Trophy Races held at Ards between 1928 and 1936 were among the most significant races held in Northern Ireland. They attracted the cream of British and Irish drivers as well as many of the top continental drivers of the time, including: Campari, Caracciola, Nuvolari, Varzi and Count Lurani.

The races held on the Limerick city street circuit in 1935, 1936 and 1938 were arguably, together with the Irish Grand Prix, the most significant of the Irish races, and attracted an excellent overseas entry as well as all of the top Irish drivers. Their story has never been fully told before now. 

Irish garages have been a distinctive feature of the Irish landscape right from the beginning of our motoring history. This book records the pioneering garages and a representative selection of the establishments – big and small – that have served Irish motorists down the years. 

I was delighted to attend the recent launch of Bob Montgomery’s latest book, In Weston Skies, at the Radisson Blu Hotel at Dublin Airport on the 13th of September. In contrast to Bob’s usual historic and highly informative titles on the life and times of Irish motoring, this book is an altogether more personal affair as it recounts his close connection with flying, based at Weston Aerodrome just outside Dublin, which had a hugely important role in the popularisation of private flying in Ireland. Bob grew up around aircraft thanks to the passion for flying of his father, David Montgomery, an accomplished pilot and instructor, and a leading light in the Aero Club of Ireland. David took Bob into the air for his first flight in 1949 when he was just two years old, and Bob continued to fl y regularly with his father in and out of Weston, until a fateful day in 1956 when he was tragically killed in a flying accident. Despite this harrowing event, Bob’s love of aviation continued practically unabated, and his knowledge of both Weston Airport and the many pilots and aircraft associated with it is brought to bear in this fascinating book, which is packed with excellent period photos including many taken by Bob’s father. Aircraft visiting in the early days of Dublin Airport, then known as Collinstown, are also extensively illustrated, as are the many personalities associated with the flying community in Ireland at the time, including, of course, Weston founder and the country’s best-known aviator, Darby Kennedy. A man that was also introduced to the skies in his boyhood by David Montgomery, before going onto a career in the aviation industry, Michael O’Brien both provided the foreword to the book and also spoke at the book launch, recounting his own memories of Weston, before Bob took to the podium under a slide show of images from the book, to thank everyone present for their support of the evening and to impart some of his insights into the process of bringing this book to publication. This is undoubtedly a book that’s been in Bob’s mind for many decades, and possibly right back to his youth, and I’m delighted to see it in print so that this story can be shared by us all. Even though it’s full of information, its large-photo format makes it an ideal coffee-table book to dip in and out of. For any classic aeroplane fan or enthusiast of flying in this country, it’s an absolute must-read. Review by Andrew Pollock 

Just out is a new book by Bob Montgomery on the history of the Irish International Grand Prix held from 1929 to 1931. As Bob says in his forword, he has written on this subject before but he always felt that these three historic races deserved a more detailed publication of their own, and he has now completed this in a beautiful, large-format, 236-page hardback book. I personally think this is one of Bob’s best books to date, and the content and the way it is presented is very impressive. All three of the Irish International Grand Prix were organised by the Royal Irish Automobile Club, who appointed Walter Sexton and Edward White to head up the team to run the events. Today we still have the Sexton Trophy, presented in memory of Walter Sexton. Also to play a big part in all of this was the Phoenix Park, and it’s great to see the book starts off with a chapter dedicated to “Dublin’s Great Park”. This is followed by a chapter on the RIAC, and another on the Phoenix Park Speed Trials of 1903, the fi rst motorsport events held in the Park, which has over the years done motorsport proud. A chapter on the circuit and the moving of the Phoenix Monument gives some great photos of works carried out to allow the races to happen. Each of the three Grand Prix get a chapter of up to forty pages, in which each day of the event is listed along with the results. Again the photographs reproduced here are superb. These are followed up with a very thought-provoking chapter entitled “The Aftermath”, which explains how and why the 1931 was the last. Just imagine if these events had been successful, would we today be enjoying an F1 race around our capital? If only. Some good did come from these events in the fact that the Irish Motor Racing Club was formed, and they kept motorsport alive in the Phoenix Park for many years. Of them all, the section on Irish Grand Prix memorabilia is my favourite, where tickets, programmes, press releases, maps, advertising and so much more are reproduced in large, full-page images with superb detail. If you’re a fan of history, early Irish motoring or just good old pictures, then this just-released book should be on your Christmas list. It retails for €50, and can be bought from all good book stores, book resellers and ourselves at Irish Vintage Scene. Review by Tom Heavey

A Personal Guide to driving Ireland’s best Roads and most interesting places.

THE BEST GUIDE FOR ENTHUSIASTIC MOTORISTS EXPLORING IRELAND

 

On the 20th of April motoring historian Bob Montgomery launched his latest book at Hodges & Figgis in Dublin City Centre, one which should be of interest to any classic car club or classic car owner alike. ‘Drive Ireland’ is an ambitious book in that it sets out to list Ireland’s best roads and most interesting places to visit along the way, but having leafed through it several times I can say that this is a very comprehensive tome indeed. Its 350-odd pages are absolutely packed with full-colour guides to not only this island’s best-know tourist spots, but also many more discreet locations that you might not have heard of; what’s most interesting for our readers is that the book maintains a motoring viewpoint at several stages of the book, listing attractions of specific interest to car fans as well as entertaining and scenic driving routes.

Although not a small book, ‘Drive Ireland’ is very usefully published in a compact format that would fi t easily in a car glovebox. It opens with overviews of Irish history and notes on driving in Ireland before delving straight in with a list of fifty of the top venues to visit in the country. Via a list of locations of motoring interest, such as museums and motor races, the reader then enters the real ‘meat’ of the book: a region-by-region guide to the best tourist attractions in each, followed in each case by interesting motoring routes in that region. There’s real detail to be found, but all in a very accessible format that’s easy to navigate, particularly if you’re on the move – coloured strips on the outer edge of the pages make it quick and easy to find what you’re looking for.

If there were any doubt as to the beauty and resources we have on our own doorstep, this book dispels them all in one swoop, and I’m already itching to get out there over the coming summer months to take in just a fraction of what Bob’s showcased in this book. I particularly like the way in that Bob’s own observations come through in the text, as well as his own interests in motoring and aviation, which adds personality to the book and ensure that it’s not just another Irish tourist guide. A valuable resource for any keen motorist, and particularly for any classic club that regularly organises road trips or social weekends away, it comes highly recommended. Review by Andrew Pollock

 

THE GREATEST RACING DRIVER YOU NEVER SAW

A surreal tale of a poverty-stricken Dundalk kid’s rise to become the only racing driver the great Ayrton Senna ever feared – and how  it all went wrong from there.

For a brief moment Irishman Tommy Byrne was arguably the world’s greatest driver, the motor racing equivalent of George Best and Muhammad Ali rolled into one. A racer, a thief, a raconteur.

This is the story of his improbable escape, his rapid rise and his spectacular fall from grace. Peppered with dark humour and a cast of ridiculous characters, it is the antithesis of a fairytale – and it’s all true.  Hold on tight, the tale of Tommy Byrne is quite a ride – from fending for himself as the runt of a big Catholic litter in the ‘60s, to running the gauntlet of the sectarian violence of the ‘70s, troubling Ayrton Senna and making it to F1 in the ‘80s, resorting to drugs in the aftermath and driving for a deluded billionaire madman and then gun-toting Mexicans in the ‘90s.

It’s raw, passionate, and – with Byrne’s ability to tell it like it is – not for the faint hearted.

2017 UPDATED EDITION EXTRA CHAPTERS & PHOTOGRAPHS

‘Forget Senna and Schuey. Tommy Byrne was the best of them all’  Eddie Jordan