Roaring price for Ireland's first car

ONE of the first cars to roam around Ireland is to go under the hammer in London where it is expected to raise a small fortune.

The French-made 1899 Clement-Panhard two-seater has been owned and cared for by the same family since the early 1900s.

However, the owner, who is based in Britain, has decided to put the 103-year-old veteran vehicle into a car auction at Christie's in London where it's expected to fetch about pounds 70,000 on December 3.

Experts believe the open-top car is an important part of Ireland's motoring history - representing the arrival of the petrol-driven age in the country.

The 789cc motor was first sold to a French nobleman after it was built, but was transferred to Ireland shortly after-wards.

The precise details of the sale are sketchy but a Dr J Parr who used it for his work eventually bought it.

It was the first car in Drogheda and sported the registration IY 45.

Dr Parr used the Clement as his everyday transport - enabling him to make house calls as the local GP.

The car has remained in the same family ever since.

In the mid-1950s it crossed the Irish Sea to Britain to be restored.

The Parr family now lives in the Rochdale area of Lancashire.

They have taken the sought-after car to almost every old car rally in the area and it also competed in the 1956 London to Brighton run.

Rupert Banner, a Christie's car expert, said: "After nearly a century of family ownership a reluctant decision has been made to part with the car

"They are doing it so that the vehicle may be more actively used by a fresh enthusiast."

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