From the archives of Bob Montgomery, motoring historian
THE DUBLIN MOTOR SHOWS: It's once again almost the time of year when the motoring world turns its attention to the Geneva Motor Show and to the many new and concept car launches taking place there.
But spare a thought for the Dublin Motor Show, which took place in 1907 and 1908. But for some trade rivalry, it could have been one of the world's great motor shows ranking beside Geneva, Detroit, Frankfurt, London or even Tokyo.
Like most of the early initiatives in the history of early motoring in Ireland, the shows were organised and run by the pioneering Irish Automobile Club. They were intended to be a showcase for cars, motorcycles, motor wagons, motor boats and accessories.
They also dealt with "motor tailoring, modes and millinery" which were of particular importance to the new motoring elite because all cars were open-topped and protecting oneself and one's passengers from the elements, not to mention the all-pervading dust, was a priority.
The first show in January 1907 was an outstanding success and offered Dubliners what was, in most cases, their first chance to examine a car up close. The main hall of the RDS was filled with over 50 displays and all major and several minor manufacturers were present. Among them were Allday, Ariel, Argyll, Beeston-Humber, Brasier, Calthorpe, Clement, Darracq, Deasy, Deemster, Globe, Gregorie, Hotchkiss, Lux, Napier, Reo, Unic, Weigel and Zenith - all long departed from the motoring world.
When they tired of looking at the cars, visitors could avail of musical entertainment provided by the organisers, Herr Leon Weltman's Blue Hungarian Band.
Perhaps it was the very success of the show that doomed it. This was a time when the motor trade was busy organising itself into associations and the newly formed Irish branch of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) refused its sanction for the proposed 1909 show, something incidentally they also did with regard to the Scottish and Manchester shows. Only its own show at Olympia in London was "officially" recognised.
Without trade support, the Irish Automobile Club had no choice but to abandon its event. So passed the first Irish motor shows.
Perhaps their greatest legacy came about through a chance meeting at the 1907 show between two men, RJ Mecredy and his cousin, R W Archer. Mecredy, editor of Motor News was, unlike other motoring writers of the time, very impressed with the new Ford car displayed at the show. Conventional wisdom was the Ford was "too spidery" and "too light" to stand up to Irish motoring conditions.
Mecredy saw the Ford differently and urged his cousin to secure the Irish agency. Archer did just that and the rest, as they say, is history.
STEAM DELIVERIES: The world's first motor van was a steam-engined van with a Serpollet engine, built by the Paris firm of Le Blanc in 1892 for the famous Paris department store, La Belle Jardinière. The van was painted in the store's livery and bore the inscription "Livraison Domicile" - deliveries to the home.
The van remained in service for almost three years.
It was left to Peugeot to become the world's first manufacturers of petrol-engined motor vans. Production began in December 1895 and it was claimed that they could carry a 1,000 lb load at up to 10 miles per hour.