{{Unreferenced, date=November 2008 Innishannon Steam and Vintage Rally is held between

Crossbarry Crossbarry () is a small village on the R589 regional road in Innishannon parish, County Cork, Ireland. It is about 20 km southwest of the city of Cork. The River Owenabue flows through the village. The West Cork Railway once ran through ...

and

Innishannon Innishannon or Inishannon () is a large village on the main Cork (city), Cork–Bandon, County Cork, Bandon road (N71 road (Ireland), N71) in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on the River Bandon, the village has grown d ...

(Irish: Inis Eonáin), a village on the main

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

– Bandon road (N71) in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Province of

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The show takes place in a 38-acre site.

History

The rally has been running successfully since June 1998 and was awarded charitable status in 1999. All proceeds from the event go to the

Irish Cancer Society The Irish Cancer Society (formerly known as the Conquer Cancer Campaign) is the national charity in the Republic of Ireland dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem, and improving the lives of those who have cancer. History Fo ...

. The rally takes place every June Bank Holiday weekend in Innishannon, Cork. The founding of the event was led by well known steam preservationist Tim Nagle of Kinsale. Over the years the event has gained significant support. In the first year IR£5000 was handed over to the Irish Cancer Society. The second year saw IR£13,500 was donated; in 2000 the amount more than doubled to IR£27,500. Unfortunately due to the

foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...

outbreak in 2001 no rally was held, but in 2002 €35,500 went to the Irish Cancer Society. In 2003 the event raised €60,000, and in 2005 €65,000. Over the past 14 years, the rally has raised over €970,000 for the ICS. The rally has broken the €1 million mark in 2012. The Innishannon Steam and Vintage replaced the nearby Upton Steam Rally started in 1967/68 by Ned Foley of Youghal (Steam Roller Engine), Thos (Thomas) Scanlan of Ballyhooley (Overtime Tractor x2) and Brendan O Connell of Ballincollig (Army Truck) to fund / support Upton Brothers of Charity, the rally which ceased in 1997, due to insurance concerns and costs.

Objectives

This rally was originally created to promote heritage machinery of all classes at work and to provide a suitable venue for vintage enthusiasts to display their machines, as well as allowing the general public to view rare agricultural and mechanical treasures from the past. The exhibits include huge tractors, threshers, unique cars, motorbikes, oil and steam engines as well as experiencing a working forge. There is also a pet's corner, always popular with children, a cake sale, numerous stands and stalls with art and craft displays, a dog show, sheep dog trials, road rolling, stone crushing, line dancing and a non-stop disco. This is a fun-day out for collectors, enthusiasts and visitors alike with car parking and camping facilities set up in the village. Innishannon itself dates back to the sixth century and is surrounded by an

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...

and castle ruins. The rally seeks to promote steam vintage and other items of heritage and also provide a venue suitable to the enthusiast to show items of yesteryear. It also allows the public to view such rare treasures. It also seeks raise funds for a needy and deserving cause, The Irish Cancer Society.

Event highlights

Steam Engines / Cars / Tractors / Fire Engine Display / Motorcycles / Working Area / Cake Sale / Vintage Club Displays / Sheep Dog Trials / Stackmaking / Slow Tractor Race / Slow Steam Engine Race / Queen of Steam Competition / Oil Engines / Vintage Farm Machinery / Threshing / Wood Sawing / Stone Crushing / Road Rolling / Rural Crafts / Disco Dancing / Slow Steam Engine Race with Barrels / Musical Chairs with Tractors and Steam Engines / Dog Show for all Classes / Line Dancing.

External links

Innishannon Steam and Vintage Rally – Official website
Steam festivals

History

Objectives

Event highlights

See also

External links