By Paddy Walsh
IT was a day of veterans and vintage vehicles in Letterkenny on Sunday.
The vintage came in the shapes and sizes of the, mainly, cars that occupied the open space at the rear of the Clanree Hotel.
And among the veterans at the Donegal Vintage Classic Car and Heritage Club annual show was 88 year old James Patrick McKelvey from Killygordon.
Eight years previously on his milestone birthday, his nephews Sean and Thomas had presented him with a vintage David Brown 30D tractor after acquiring it some time previously to refurbish it in its entirety.
“He spent all day yesterday cleaning it,” Sean declares.
And now has something else to polish, the Harry James Memorial Perpetual Trophy presented to its very proud owner, one of a number of presentations made to patrons at the show.
The David Brown 30 D tractor owned by James Patrick McKelvey and lovingly restored by his nephews, Sean and Thomas McKelvey, before being presented to their uncle on the occasion of his 80th birthday eight years ago.
John Roarty from Gortahork took his half Consul/half Cortina to Letterkenny to display to the enthusiasts. On the front bonnet, the vehicle has the Consul logo while the back of the 1963 model is labelled Cortina.
The Consul part of the name was dropped in 1964 and was consequently to become known as the Cortina, proving to be a major marketing success and equally popular with family owners and fleet operators.
“I only have it three years. It came across from England and some lad had her in Donegal before I bought it,” John explains. “The Ford Consul 375 was before the Cortina and the dash is different to the Cortina.
“There are 55,000 genuine miles on her,” he adds up.
And approximately 43 kilometres more to take him back home to Gortahork on Sunday evening.
Gortahork man John Roarty pictured with his Consul/Cortina at Sunday’s vintage car show.
Yet another attraction was the teal coloured Ford Anglia – others might dispute the colour description – that drew many an admiring gaze.
On its windscreen, a potted history of the car that had been registered in County Tyrone on January 2, 1967. It had covered 10,015 miles and then traded into AJ McCullough in Belfast in 1986 whose daughter had driven it for a year to put a further 500 miles on it.
“The car was then stored in their showroom at Ladas Drive for the next 17 years. When the family sold the premises, it was moved to his son’s car-port in Saintfield where it stayed for a further 18 years.”
Golden wonder . . . The popular Volkswagen at the show in Letterkenny.
The current owner purchased the Anglia in 2023 and re-commissioned it to put it back on the road. And consequently to a showing in Letterkenny in pristine condition.
Not something that could be said for the far from perfect Prefect that was on display that also featured a written biography on its windscreen. To describe it as a rust bucket might not do it justice but it was nevertheless a stand-out feature of Sunday’s event.
“1950’s Ford Prefect modified body bonnet/wings/grill converted to flip front.
United in unholy matrimony to 1977 Reliant Scimitar GTE 3.0 Ford Essex V6/Autobox,”
A marriage that got somewhat rusty over the years but still earned its place at a Vintage Car show and indeed featured in Retro Classics in April 2024.
A 1950’s Ford Prefect.
There was, of course, many more gleaming machines on show including the Coupe Marina; the Ford Capri 2.8; and the golden wonder, a Volkswagen 1303.LS. And a motor load of other attractions to keep the enthusiasts in overdrive.
And watching on from the passenger seat of a more modern vehicle, another veteran, the man responsible for putting together many a vintage car show in Donegal, none other than Fergus Cleary, who has been off the road in recent times due to illness.
He recalled staging and attending such shows throughout Donegal including Ballyshannon and Rossnowlagh among other locations.
His own favourite motor – quite literally his own – is the Jaguar Daimler that represents his pride and joy.
Rear window …A classic Ford Anglia at Sunday’s Vintage car show in Letterkenny.
Great to see this popular character back in the beloved surroundings of a vintage car show.
Meanwhile, an impressive attendance at the event will ensure vital proceeds for the Little Angels School and St. Bernadette’s Special School.