- by Brian Byrne
History of Curragh motor racing published
17 April 2003: Newbridge photographer and motor racing enthusiast Oliver McCrossan has written an account of the motor racing scene on the Curragh in the 40s and 50s, which has been published by Dreolin in its Irish Transport Series.
The publication, sponsored by BMW and produced in accosiation with the RIAC Guinness Segrave Archive, is a comprehensive record of the road racing that took place annually between 1947 and 1954, and which ended after an accident in which a marshall and a spectator were killed and several other people injured in a tragic crash.
Lavishly illustrated with photographs, many from the author's own collection, the book is a must for any Irish motorsport enthusiast, and indeed for many from overseas, as the Curragh events were strongly supported by drivers from many other countries.
Oliver McCrossan's interest in motorsport actually began with the Curragh events, when as a boy of seven he was taken by his brother to the 1947 'short' course races, the first on the Curragh road course and also the first post-war motor race to be held in southern Ireland.
(photos above from RIAC archive)
©2003 irishcar.com