By Andy Spearman
Either the weather gods were smiling on the organisers of Saturday’s Drogheda Motor Show or perhaps they’d left the Child of Prague out all night, like many a bride has done in the hope of ensuring good weather for their big day.
Either way they were blessed with a beautiful day of autumnal sunshine which was sandwiched between two days of driving rain.
Laurence Street was pedestrianised for the day which added hugely to the relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere allowing people to wander at will among the shiny new cars on display.
Motor car fanatics used to be called petrol heads but I suppose today’s equivalent would be electric heads. Certainly the majority of cars on display were electric vehicles.
Nicky Smith of Ford Dealers Smiths of Drogheda told me that he was delighted with how the day was progressing and he too commented on the great atmosphere among the passing crowds.
For the full length of Laurence Street, from The Tholsel to St. Laurence’s Gate, there were shiny new cars of every conceivable marque on display and, whatever about buying, people were certainly looking at them. Not quite kicking tyres but certainly sitting behind the wheel and eyeing up the various models.
One punter I met, he didn’t want to be named because he was out looking for a new car for his wife’s Christmas present, said that it was great to see all of the various makes of car in the one venue.
“You could spend the whole week going to the various dealer’s showrooms” he said, “I know they all have websites but looking at cars online is not the same. You have to get up close and personal and get a feel for the cars. Well I do anyway.”
The anonymous and, it has to be said, very generous, man added that he had whittled his choice down to two cars both of which he intends to test drive in the coming week. Some luck lady is going to get a big surprise this Christmas.
I’m not sure that, even if I had the money, I’d be brave enough to choose a car for my wife because women look for different things in cars than us men.
When I was in hospital recently I heard two female nurses talking and one of them broke the news that she’d bought a car at the weekend and the other one said: “Oh lovely, what colour is it?”
Anyway, back to the Motor Show. There was much more than motor cars on show there were also entertainers wandering through the crowd and magician Simon Ryan had many tricks literally up his sleeve with which he kept many people in awe at his skill at making things disappear and reappear.
The theme of this year’s event was ‘My Car My Way’, celebrating not only individuality in car ownership but also emphasising the messages of road safety and responsible driving.
Helping in no small way to get these vital messages across was a troupe of dancers from the local dance and production company, Kast Productions, who put on a specially commissioned dance performance which proved extremely popular.
Robert Murray, one of the principal organisers of the day, said: “The weather was just about perfect, locals came out in great numbers and business was certainly written on Laurence Street during Saturday. It was a special motoring occasion and we’ve got lots of people to thank for the success.
“There was one simple message really on the day and it was to shop and support local businesses. From the initial feedback from both the motor dealers and indeed the local businesses and traders on Laurence Street, this was the case.
“It’s fantastic to see such wonderful local support and as a community we need to remember to purchase locally as much as we can.”
