Jaguars have always had true fans but, as Hugh Oram discovers, there are few as dedicated as Dominic Nolan, who has a collection of restored Jags (and many other classics) at home near Blessington
Dominic Nolan, president of the Irish Jaguar & Daimler Club, has always been an avid fan of Jags. After he bought an XJS in 1984, he became interested in the club and the rest is history. In his own locality, the Blessington Motor Club is also going strong, with about 150 members.
He started by collecting Jags, then moved on to restoring them absolutely meticulously. In many ways, the US is the "home" of classic Jags, because there are so many American collectors of the marque.
When the Nolans were on holiday in Florida in the late 1980s, Dominic discovered an XK 140 drop head, which seemed in really bad condition, but which was actually only missing the rev counter.
Dominic and his wife Jennifer have five children and seven grandchildren. The youngest child, Richard, who was then aged four, said to the man who was selling Dominic the car, "you're selling my Dad a wreck". Richard, who's now 19, is the other car fanatic in the family, but big into modified cars.
At the same time on that trip to the US, Dominic bought a Series 3 E type, which was in even worse condition. The two were shipped home and he restored the Series 3 E type first.
It even survived a fire in the furniture factory in Clondalkin that Dominic then owned. "It was definitely the cat with nine lives", he says. Then he turned his attention to the XK 140 and spent 14 months fanatically restoring it, in his own words.
When it was in perfect running order, looking as mint as the day it first emerged from the Jaguar factory, the Nolans went on a motoring holiday to the Bordeaux region of France and returned with ample supplies of the local produce.
Strangely enough, Dominic's interest in old, mechanical things began with clocks and he's still an avid collector of those. But his interest in restoring old Jags to their pristine condition continued to develop. He also became fascinated by the Jaguar legend and its creator, William Lyons.
William Lyons, on his 21st birthday, in 1922, met up with William Walmsley, who was nine years his senior and make side cars for a living. Lyons' father was an Irish musician who had ended up running a piano shop in Blackpool.
From the Swallow side cars, Swallow car bodies emerged and then in 1931, SS Cars. Unsurprisingly, the Nolans' house, near Blessington, Co Wicklow, is named "The Swallows" and there are still plenty of the bird variety around where they live, he says.
The Jaguar name came into use in 1936 when Lyons, by now the sole owner, started making the legendary 3.5 litre Jaguar SS 100 cars, one of which is in Dominic Nolan's possession.
He spent around 3,000 hours restoring this one, made in December, 1937. He also has an even earlier Jag, which he says was made in 1932, making it the oldest known Jag in the world. Originally, it was sold to a lady from the old Salthill Hotel in Monkstown, Co Dublin.
Dominic remarks wryly: "When I bought a 1935 SS Tourer, very flamboyant, in two shades of maroon, I thought that I'd be satisfied, but I wasn't." Today, he owns close to a dozen old Jags. He just likes them, especially the early SS models, but he does have a Series 3 type, made in 1971. One of his most recent purchases was of a 1959 pre-launch Mark II saloon in white, which he bought for his wife Jennifer.
For any fans of the TV detective, Inspector Morse, this car will be instantly recognisable; an identical Mark II was the intrepid Inspector's runabout.
But Dominic Nolan's collection isn't entirely Jags - he also has a Wolseley Hornet Swallow, with a body made by the Swallow motor firm.
All the cars in his collection have been fully restored by himself, mechanically and bodywise. One large garage at his home has some of his cars and car mementoes, while a second garage beside the house is used by himself and his son Richard for working on cars.
At the moment, Dominic is working on a 120 drop-head, made in 1953. The chassis and engine are in one garage, the bodywork in the other, so it will be a while before they all meet up again.
These days, Dominic Nolan is semi-retired from business, but still works as a consultant.
One thing he misses from the furniture factory he had is the spray painting booth, which was also handy for his old cars. However, now he has slightly more time for all his car restoration work and for the club's activities.
A good day to go classical in Terenure
One of the most popular classic and veteran car events of the year, the annual show of the Irish Jaguar & Daimler Club, is set for this Sunday at Terenure College, Dublin. This will be the club's 12th such show, with this year's venue being provided by the Carmelite Order.
The show will be open from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. and entry will cost €20 for a family. For adults, the charge will be €8 and for senior citizens, €5. Parking will be provided for about 2,000 visitor cars. One of the big attractions will be the cars belonging to members of the club.
About 40 of their cars will feature on the club's stand and in addition, between 500 and 600 other classic and vintage cars, sports, open top and saloon models, will be there.
"We will have cars from all over Ireland, from Northern Ireland right down to Kerry, with every single marque that's owned in Ireland represented," says Dominic Nolan, president of the club.
The marques on show will include Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati and Rolls-Royce.
The show will also have craft and trade stalls, an auto jumble sale, children's entertainment and a Victorian-style tea tent where refreshments will be served.
It's all in aid of a very good cause, St Mary's hospital and residential school in Baldoyle, Dublin, run by the Sisters of Charity for children with learning and other disabilities.
Last year, the show raised €45,000 for charity, and Dominic Nolan estimates that since the very first show was held, in the grounds of Harold's Cross Catholic church, Dublin, 14 years ago, they have raised about €250,000 for charity. They've only missed out on the show once, two years ago, at the height of the foot and mouth scare.
Over the years, the show has had many highlights, from one of the very first Benz cars, pre-1900, to a guest appearance by comedian Sir Norman Wisdom.
For anyone bringing an old car to the show, there will be a presentation of a hand-painted plate depicting their car, but they actually have to turn up at the show to get one of these souvenirs.
The Irish Jaguar & Daimler Club has been going since 1980. It was founded in Cork, but moved to Dublin the following year.
Today, it's one of Ireland's leading car clubs, the only one for Jaguar and Daimler, with about 130 members. The club has its own website, www.irishjagclub.ie.