Genealogy research by Mark Humphrys.
Genealogy research by Mark Humphrys.
| Peugeot |
Peugeot Type 26 (1899).
From here.
Looks like the car above.
A 1914 Mendip.
From here.
The O'Rahilly bought a De Dion Bouton automobile c.1911.
His nephew Dick Humphreys
in
[Dick, memoir]
says:
"Always a great supporter of Irish-made goods,
and at the same time a keen motorist,
when he decided to buy a car,
he wished to buy an Irish-made one.
This gave me a chance of a trip with him to Belfast
where the Chambers Motor Co. were manufacturing the only home-built model
in Ireland."
[Chambers
was the most successful Irish motor manufacturer,
started making cars 1904,
went out of business 1929].
"Unfortunately there was a long waiting list so he had regretfully to
transfer his affection to a Dublin-built body on a
"De Dion Bouton" chassis.
O'Grady's of Dawson St were the actual makers."
[P102/116]
is coach builder's letter.
[Dick, memoir]
says:
"This car was owned jointly by our two families."
(i.e. The O'Rahilly and his sister
Nell).
[P102/112]
is a plan dated 8 Jan 1910
on how the two families will share an automobile.
Liam Cosgrave recalls: "My father" [i.e. W.T. Cosgrave] "drove with The O'Rahilly to a meeting in Balbriggan about 1915 in O'Rahilly's car. He was the only Sinn Feiner with a car. W.T. had to get out and wipe the rain off the windscreen. No wipers then."
In the 1916 Rising,
the De Dion Bouton was
used as part of a makeshift barricade on Prince's St
(the lane running down the side of the GPO),
where it was burnt out.
There was a long running story that rubble from the 1916 rising (including O'Rahilly's car)
was buried under
Hill 16
in Croke Park.
But this is nonsense,
an urban legend.
Hill 16 was not built on rubble from the Rising.
Dick Humphreys later (in 1929) had an all-Irish car built for himself, the Thomond.
The O'Rahilly's De Dion Bouton (with custom Irish-made body).
Surrey Vintage Vehicle Society
confirms this is a De Dion Bouton of around 1911.
Would be The O'Rahilly's sons in the car.
Though doesn't look much like his wife
Nancy Brown.
See full size.
This photo was used as a postcard in
[P106/574(28)].
The De Dion Bouton.
This is
[P106/503(1)].
See
larger
and
full size.
See
other version
in
[P106/503(2)].
See
back.
The burnt-out remains of The O'Rahilly's De Dion Bouton,
used as part of a makeshift barricade in Prince's St, Dublin, 1916.
See full size.
The burnt-out remains of The O'Rahilly's De Dion Bouton.
From Liz Gillis post
at Mercier Press.
See larger
and full size.
See smaller but wider shot.
A 1911 De Dion Bouton double phaeton.
From here.
Looks quite a bit like the above, especially bonnet and radiator.
A 1911 De Dion Bouton runabout.
The O'Rahilly's car has a different, Irish-made, body, but same bonnet and radiator.
See full size.
From Richard Spiegelman.
Used with permission.
Letter from Dublin Castle to
The O'Rahilly's widow on 19 June 1916,
about the wreck of his car.
A fairly ludicrous letter that says the car is just "partially burned".
Photos show it is completely destroyed!
This is
[P106/125]
(see
online).
The starting handle of The O'Rahilly's De Dion Bouton car.
This apparently was in
Kerry County Museum,
and is apparently now in
NMI, Collins Barracks.
Image from NMI,
which incorrectly says it is from
"The O'Rahilly's green Ford Touring Car".
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