From the archives of Bob Montgomery, motoring historian.
SO WHO WAS LINCOLN?: Christmas 1923 was perhaps not the most opportune moment to start a new motor business in Ireland. Yet this was just what three enterprising young men did. The brave - or foolhardy - trio, depending on your outlook, were Andrew Nolan, Richard Archer and George Robinson and they registered their new company as "Lincoln and Nolan Limited". "Andy" Nolan was the concessionaire for Buick cars in Ireland, while George Robinson and Richard Archer were established businessmen, but who, many were to ask down the years, was Mr Lincoln?
Mr Lincoln did not exist. The successful motor company already run by Robinson and Archer took its name from Lincoln Place, Dublin, where it was situated and it seemed natural to incorporate the name into the title of the new company. So, Lincoln & Nolan it became and as such was known to several generations of Irish motorists.
The new company acquired an old coachbuilder's premises, which had been established since 1810 in Lower Baggot Street and established a showroom there. Despite the perils of that difficult economic time, the new company prospered, but the real breakthrough happened in 1927 when they were selected to handle the franchise for the Austin Motor Company. It was as the Austin Distributors and later Assemblers, that Lincoln & Nolan were to become a household name.
For the four-year-old company, it was all change as they moved from selling relatively high-priced cars to a range of much less expensive models which by now included the famous Austin Seven.
Progress was steady for the next eight years, but in 1933, the Government introduced legislation forbidding the importation of all but the highest priced cars. Cars for the Irish market would henceforth have to be imported as parts and assembled locally by Irish labour. Lincoln & Nolan realised the necessity of "assembling" if they were to continue in business and sought suitable premises. Soon, a site was found and a new factory built. Production began in the new factory in the third week of May 1936. By the end of the year the total output of cars was 217 vehicles, accounting for a weekly wage bill of £300!
The cars were imported "CKD", meaning "Completely Knocked Down". What this meant was that Austin sent the materials required to make a car, while as much as possible was sourced locally in Ireland. Lincoln & Nolan was one of the first companies in the world to assemble cars in this fashion. In 1938 the Rover Company appointed Lincoln & Nolan as their concessionaires for Ireland and as a consequence another 15,000 sq. feet of factory space was added.
But with the second World War the factory was forced to close in 1942. In 1946 a trickle of Austin exports resumed and gradually assembly got under way again at Lincoln & Nolan, recommencing fully in 1948. In January 1948, Andy Nolan died and the two remaining founding directors decided to sell the business. As a result, a new public company, Lincoln & Nolan (Holdings) Ltd, came into being in January 1950. These developments led to further expansion by Lincoln & Nolan and continued success for the Austin and Rover brands in the Irish market.
Austin in particular achieved very considerable sales success. This success continued into the 1960s but with Ireland's accession to the EEC the writing was on the wall for motor assembly in this country.
By then, Lincoln & Nolan had been through several changes of identity, while Austin itself had been subsumed into the British Motor Corporation and its glory days were also coming to an end.
Lincoln & Nolan's achievement was to be at the forefront of motor assembly in Ireland through several turbulent economic decades. Decades when it flew the Austin flag with distinction.