Shamrock Rally

John Adams is a genuine Motorcyclist. Although now aged 80, he has only rarely been without a motorcycle since the age of 15.

Being experienced on two or three wheels, British or Japanese or Italian, large or little, his favourite must have been the Triumph Thunderbird and Busmar Astral double adult sidecar outfit which he rode everywhere for many years.

John Adam's outfit with two of John's children before he took them on a ride to the top of Clee Hill to see some really thick snow in 1969 or 1970.

As a keen T.T. Supporter he attended 26. As a keen Rallyist he attended 17 Dragon Rallies. As a keen Clubman, he was a founding member of the Tenbury Wells Motorcycle Club, which specialised in local Motorcycle Display-Team antics at summer shows.

Finding out that the first ever Shamrock Rally was to be held around Easter in 1968, John needed a willing passenger for the journey down to a far corner of Southern Ireland. Another club stalwart, Danny Baldwin, ace welder, real ale taster, and also a Cavalier member of the 'Sealed Knot' agreed to hold the third wheel down. Plans were laid for a journey to the village of Anascaul, somewhere down on the Dingle Peninsula in Eire.

Journeying to Holyhead was uneventful, but John had his heart in his mouth later as he watched his beloved outfit being loaded onto the ferry, inside a cargo-net, and would have to endure the same for the return trip across the Irish Sea. It took ages later to remove rope-burn marks from the sidecar's paintwork.

Upon arrival at Dublin, another surprise awaited at Customs. Because the U.K. had only recently managed to stamp out Foot and Mouth Disease, the Irish Customs insisted that any food must be left at dockside.

Sideways comments were made by many passengers who said that the Customs personnel would have a free feast later, but of course, the restriction was reluctantly understood.

Riding through the heart of Eire down to the Dingle Peninsula was trouble free and it was interesting to see that the use of horses was still common.

At the Rally at Anascaul only two things are remembered with any clarity (after 50 years). Every other house on the main street was either a shop or a pub, and at a gathering in one was seen an elderly Irishman seated near the bar. On the bar was a row of pints of Guinness which had been bought for him by the motorcyclists.

John and Danny's leaving of Anascaul on Sunday morning was short-lived, literally. Only a few miles were covered of the long road to Dublin when the Triumph lost power. It seemed to John that he only had about one eighth of throttle; or did the Triumph just want to stay in Eire a little while longer?

Other motorcyclists stopped to help and the points were re-set a couple of times to no avail. Then a saviour appeared. None other than Stanley Woods, yes, THE Stanley Woods stopped to help, and when it was thought that the fault could not be cured by the roadside, he offered to tow the outfit all the way to Dublin with his car.

Danny had been calmly sat in the sidecar enjoying a few smokes while all the diagnostic shenanigans were going on, but suddenly shouted " SPARKS, SPARKS! ". There was the culprit, a trapped wire in the sidecar shorting out.

So Stanley Woods' kind offer of a tow to Dublin was not required. John and Danny returned to Dublin Docks to find that the men employed to load the ferry were on strike. All the motorcyclists then found a place to sit or lie, until about midnight when they were all woken --- strike over and the bikes were loaded.

Upon arrival at home, John had just enough time to say 'Hello' to his wife and children, then put on overalls, jump back on the Outfit and go to work by 7.00 am. John and Danny would have tales to tell next Thursday clubnight.

All true!

- Tim Hall


Start of quotation My most sincere congratulations to Tim Hall for his brilliant reporting of the 68 Shamrock rally, as well as my utmost respect to veteran John Adams!

This superb piece deserves to be highlighted again. With this in mind I am adding an archive photo taken at the meeting. End of quotation

- Jean-Francois Helias

Francois sent the first B&W photo and immediately there was a response from Thom...

Start of quotation There were five of us together at the rally. My brother Michael and I, Michael Tobin, Seamus Fenton and Noel Grace who is in some of the other photographs taken at the rally on Michael Foley's camera and Michael still has all those photos to this day. I used them in a piece I wrote for the commemorative booklet produced by the LDMCC for the 50th Shamrock Rally.

Sadly Michael Tobin (MHI 751) died after a short illness. He was still motorcycling and bought a new motorcycle recently.

R.I.P End of quotation

- Thom Foley

Another snap of Michael Tobin at the 1968 Shamrock Rally. This one is part of an extensive collection taken at the rally by Kennelly Archive.


Isn't the power of the internet in general, and this site in particular amazing? As luck would have it, revealing new comments and photos have recently been posted on LPMCC about the very first meeting of the legendary Irish Shamrock Rally.

That meeting was organised by the Limerick & District MCC on the weekend of the 6/7 April 1968, in Annascaul, a village on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry.

More items to share

My archives hold some interesting documents on this event. Amongst them are these scans of items, given to me by one of my oldest and closest French rallyist friends. Between 1970 and 1985, he and I took part in a multitude of rallies all over France and further afield in Europe. He's a regular reader of this site, as well being an occasional contributor. Of course, my immediate thought was to share them with everyone on LPMCC.

Amongst these graphic treasures in my archive, one of the most important images is the cover of the official programme. This was given to each participant registered with the Limerick & District MCC, alongwith the commemorative badge. It's remarkable that one of these fragile documents has survived for over fifty years.

In April 1968 UK radio stations were playing Lady Madonna by the Beatles; whilst in the main street of the small Irish village of Annascaul in the Dingle Peninsula, along the Wild Atlantic Way, the only sound to be heard was the roar of the engines gathered together for Ireland's first ever motorbike rally.

The residents of this peaceful area of County Kerry; craftsmen, farmers and rural food producer were used to a quieter and more mundane daily routine, so the invasion of hundreds of motorcycles all heading to this weekend event was both astonishing and extraordinary.

The local police and residents didn't miss anything of this unusual spectacle. Am I wrong if I think I recognise the face of Ronnie Barker, (no, not that Ronnie Barker), of the Saltbox MCC driving this BMW combo?

First meeting honoured by the presence of 'Le Druide'

Of course, back then the internet and social media didn't exist, so the only way rallyists of the 1960s heard of such upcoming events was through word of mouth, or the specialist press.

Among the participants who responded to the call from Limerick & District MCC, were a few enthusiasts of this form of motorcycling from abroad. The photo below showing a very jovial Jean-Marie Debonneville aka 'Le Druide', with his Russian partner at the time, Hélène. The couple had travelled from the north of France on their combo, to participate in this first Irish event.

Debonneville, with his legendary bush hat, seemed to enjoy the atmosphere of the 1968 Shamrock rally

A vast array of motorcyclists riding all types of makes, machines and specs had gathered in the town.

Arriving in Anascaul, participants were directed to follow signs set up by the organisers, to registration and then go to the campsite located on a hillside outside the village.

The local pubs, and some of the other businesses in the village such as the bakery, benefitted greatly from the extra trade all these visitors brought.

Two main events in the evening of 6 April 1968

For many residents of Annascaul and thereabouts, the spectacle not to be missed on this evening of April 6, 1968 was perhaps not witnessing rallyists overindulging in beer in the local pubs; but rather to sit in front of the TV at home watching the thirteenth edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.

The British public obviously hoped that evening to witness the victory of the song "Congratulations" performed by the famous Cliff Richard, representing their countries. Cliff took second place beaten by only one point by the Spanish singer Massiel winning with her song "La, la, la".

As for the rallyists, the main show for them not to be missed this evening was assuredly the election of Miss Shamrock.

A visually pleasing event for the observers, taking place late into the evening in the local church hall, although for some who couldn't see very clearly or worse still were seeing double, it may have proved frustrating.

Once the election of Miss Shamrock ‘68 was over, the evening continued with the traditional award ceremony for the most deserving rallyists.

The night ended in the early hours for the most valiant, to the sound of the Irish accordion music, traditional songs, and frantic dances where many girls from the village and motorcyclists mingled amiably.

- Jean-Francois Helias