Spirit of Dunboyne lives on at former race circuit

Dunboyne will be the focus of attention for all motorsport enthusiasts this weekend with a two-day festival on Saturday and Sunday where nostalgia will be the dish of the day. The fourth Spirit of Dunboyne festival, the inaugural event took place in 2006, aims to rekindle memories of the car and motorcycle racing which took place there for a decade in the 1950s and '60s. From 1958 to 1967 some of the world's top competitors travelled to Dunboyne to race around the four-mile circuit. Racing ceased in 1967 after the completion of the newly-opened Mondello Park where the Leinster 200 and Leinster Trophy still take place. Memories of the Meath circuit faded until the Dunboyne Motor Club was established in 2006 to commemorate the international bike and car races. "Most of the organising committee were not even born when the racing was held on the Dunboyne circuit," club chairman Sean Henry told the Meath Chronicle. "However, we were aware of the major motorcycle and car events which were held there, the famous riders and drivers who competed, and the huge crowds which came to spectate. "As Dunboyne is considered to be such a historic event in Irish motorsport we decided to organise a reunion event in 2006 and it has just gone from strength-to-strength since then. "The Spirit of Dunboyne Motorsport Festival is now a major event on the Irish Motorsport calendar," he added. This year's event is expected to attract thousands to the Meath village and will feature parade laps by racing motorcycles and cars from the 1950s and 1960s as well as static displays of veteran and vintage machinery. Many famous names cut their teeth in competitive action at Dunboyne. Belfast driver John Watson won the Leinster Trophy in 1966 driving a 1.6 litre Crossle sports racer and he later went on to enjoy success in both Formula Two and Formula One. During his F1 career he won five Grand Prix making him the most successful Irish racing driver of all time. Top rally driver Paddy Hopkirk, also from Belfast, finished third in the 1959 Leinster Trophy race at Dunboyne in an Austin Healey Sprite, and later won the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally in a Mini Cooper S. Another top rally driver, and a local, Rosemary Smith also competed at Duboyne and finished fourth in the Holmpatrick Trophy in 1963 driving a 1952 Sunbeam before she emerged as a serious talent on the rally circuit. The only driver to win two races at Dunboyne was Dubliner Alec Poole who won both of the saloon car races in 1966. The fastest average speed was set by Chris Summers from Coventry, on his way to winning the 1965 Leinster Trophy, driving a powerful 5.3-litre Lotus 24 Chevrolet V8 which averaged 98.14 mph. Four drivers were also fatally injured at the circuit - Bill Rigg (1964) at Loughsallagh hairpin; Adam Wylie (1965) following a crash with another car during practice; Tony David (1965) at Loughsallagh hairpin; Kenneth McArdle (1966) Navan road. Leinster Trophy winners: 1958 - John Anstice-Brown (England); 1959 - Alec Jameson (Ireland); 1960 - Gerry Ashmore (England); 1961 - Tommy Hayden (Ireland, resident in England); 1962 - Bob Olthoff (South Africa); 1963 - Sidney Taylor (Ireland, resident in England); 1964 - Jack Pearce (England); 1965 - Chris Summers (England); 1966 - John Watson (Northern Ireland). A total of 41 motorcycle races were held at Dunboyne where Dubliner Gerard (Dickie) Carter was the most successful rider in the years that the Leinster 200 was held there. He won four 250 cc races. When Dunboyne was first used in 1958 the race direction was clockwise, but from 1959 it was run anti-clockwise.