The Shamrock was a
car
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
produced in
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 ...
for a brief period during the late 1950s.
The business was established by American businessmen James F. Conway and William K Curtis in
Castleblaney
Castleblayney (; ) is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town had a population of 3,607 as of the 2016 census. Castleblayney is near the border with County Armagh in Northern Ireland, and lies on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Lett ...
, Co. Monaghan. The aim was to produce a large luxury car model for export to the
US market. Alvin 'Spike' Rhino, a Canadian ex 500-cc Formula 3 racer, designed the Shamrock.
Shortly after production began, however, design flaws became apparent. Although the car was big and heavy, it used a relatively small
Austin A55 1.5 litre engine, which limited performance. The A55 also provided the transmission and suspension. Another problem was that the rear wheels were shrouded by body panels and a rear wheel could not be removed (for puncture repair for example) without dropping its
axle
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...
. The car used
fibreglass body panels and was styled as a four seat, two door coupé with removable hardtop. The wheelbase was 98 inches (2487 mm). All cars were painted white, although one in the USA has been repainted candy green.
Production of up to 10,000 cars a year was discussed but as few as ten complete cars were produced during the six months before production ceased. After the factory closed, the unused parts were dumped into the local lake,
Lough Muckno
Muckno Lake (), also known as Lough Muckno, is a freshwater lake in the northeast of Ireland. It is located in County Monaghan beside the town of Castleblayney.
Geography and hydrology
Muckno Lake measures about long and wide. It flows out to ...
.
The car is now very rare, and only nine are believed to still exist: five in Ireland—one each in
Killarney,
Castleblayney, and
Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
, two in
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
, and one in
Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
—and three in the USA, one in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
and two in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
References
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External links
Irish Wheels of Misfortune Provide a Lift for RestorerLos Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
June 2002
The Shamrock: The flash and sleek Irish car that never got out of first gearIrish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.
The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines.
Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
September 2014
{{Automotive industry in Ireland
1950s cars
Cars of Ireland