Those travelling on the east coast between Arklow and Wexford in the next few days will be treated to a spectacular and unusual sight.
Some of Ireland's oldest and largest steam engines will begin the journey from Arklow tomorrow in a fund-raising drive for a Wexford organisation providing care for severely mentally handicapped people.
Eight engines will make the four-day journey, including the Dolphin, the last steam engine to be manufactured at the Burrell factory in Thetford, England, before it closed in 1928.
Father Jim Fitzpatrick, a curate in Ferns and one of the organisers, said the Dolphin, which arrived from Scotland on Sunday, is the biggest steam engine ever seen in Ireland. It is owned by a native of Ferns now living in Scotland, Mr Mike Dreelan.
The other steam engines are owned by Irish enthusiasts, most from the Wexford area.
Travelling at speeds of about 5 m.p.h., they will be accompanied by collectors for the Wexford Association of the Parents and Friends of the Severely Mentally Handicapped.
Running the steam engines is expensive - 10 tonnes of smokeless coal will be burned on the N11 this week - but where sponsorship cannot be raised, the owners will meet the costs. This means all the money collected will go to the association, which runs three homes in Wexford providing long-term residential care.
More than £20,000 has already been raised towards the venture. As well as roadside collections, fund-raising events will be held in each stopover town during the four-day run. Father Fitzpatrick claims not be an expert in steam engines, but is "mechanically minded" and admits to a certain degree of enthusiasm. "If you can plug it in or put oil into it, then it's up my alley," he said.
Most of the vehicles on the road this week were built for agricultural use, but one was used to tow a mobile cinema around Ireland about 80 years ago, while the Dolphin was a showman's engine, a type used for a number of purposes including the haulage of fairground attractions.