Written by Michael Spellman

On Sunday, the 5th of April last we held our Meals after Wheels run. We met up at the Esso petrol station on the Claregalway Oranmore road. This is a handy place to start as we have the car park outside the Cold Chon offices and if we need petrol or other refreshments – it’s beside us. It gave a chance for us to meet up, do some tyre kicking and discuss the run etc. We headed out the N6 towards Loughrea, and then took the road for Gort going out by the lake.

I did not travel on this road before, parts of it were long and straight and you met plenty of cars cutting across between the two towns. It still offered good views in both directions with rolling hills – some with windmills. As we got closer to Gort the skies darkened and it started to rain. I thought that was going to be it for the day. Into Gort and turning right into the town. It’s difficult to turn as you are trying to get into the endless line of cars from Limerick. Hopefully, in the next two years the by-pass will be completed and this will no longer be a problem. Thankfully, Padraic Giblin met up with us there and he was on hand to help stop the traffic and let our convoy out (many thanks Padraic).

In Gort, participants had the option to stop off. As it was raining, we had ourselves stopped off and had a bowl of soup and sandwiches in O’Grady’s. The venue is used to passing trade and the food was served up promptly. When we came out, the rain had stopped which definitely helped the next part of the trip. Next port of call was Coole Park, where we met up with the other drivers. We got out to stretch the legs. With my family, we went for a quick walk through the walled garden and down to the lake. As we had arrived later than the others, we didn’t spend as much time as we would have liked. It gave us pointers for a future visit. Onto to Clarinbridge and stopping at Paddy Burkes for the meal. Despite the name of the run, not all drivers waited for the dinner. We still had twenty three in our party and were provided with great food and service.

Participants:

Padraic Giblin, Morris Oxford	Jimmy Tierney, VW Beetle Convertible
Larry Murphy, Triumph Herald Convertible	Tony Gannon, Volvo 144
Philip Hendrick, Daimler V8 250	Ray O’Donoghue, Jaguar Mark 2
Ray Spellman, Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet	Michael Spellman, Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Tom Spellman, Mercedes 230E	Gabriel Blake, Hillman Minx
Joe O’Neill, Jaguar Mark 2	Nicky O’Malley, Rover P6
Ian Doherty, MGB GT	Bill Fennell, Daimler V8 250
Frank Mullan, Wolseley 16/60	Tony Duignan, Volkswagen Beetle