Lady buys her 23rd Ford in 80 years from the same dealers in Galway

unkel

EILEEN Lovett was all excited about buying her new 2010- registered car.

Almost as excited as when she bought her first one -- a mere 80 or so years ago.

Loyalty knows no bounds for her. This was her 23rd new Ford.

It was a little different this time, though.

She bought it for her daughter.

Eileen, originally Eileen Lydon from Clifden, Co Galway, thinks it's time she handed over the keys to someone else.

Born in November 1911, she turns 99 this year and has fond and vivid memories of all her cars down through the years.

She has bought 23 new cars from the same Galway outlet since 1929. Her 23rd is a 2010 Focus.

It is hard to imagine today, but Eileen began driving when just aged 12 in her home town of Clifden, where her family ran a bakery.

She was still at primary school when she undertook her first drive in 1923 after her mother asked her to collect some butter in the bakery van.

By the time she was 17 she had decided to buy her first car.

Back then, the dealership was Higgins Garage in Galway (it went on to become Motorpark). The 14.9 Ford model cost IR£198.

Eileen recalls how much she loved it from the first day she drove it.

Miles

And drive it she did. It clocked up thousands of miles with Eileen behind the wheel as she delivered goods from the bakery to schools around Galway and beyond.

Two years later she went to Dublin to train as a nurse in Jervis Street hospital. All through her long career in nursing, Eileen always went back to the same dealership to buy a new car. Now that's loyalty.

She can still rattle off the name and type of all the 22 Fords she owned.

Not alone that but she can tell you the registration number of each as well.

As she looks at the picture of herself and her car from 1930 she says: "That was the first 14.9 Ford that came into Galway that WP Higgins sold to me. The photograph was taken in June. Twelve months later I traded that one in and I got a new one."

And another one, and another one.

"I could give you a list of every single one of them, registration numbers and all, but I would have to sit down to write them."

- Eddie Cunningham

Irish Independent


Article

no1beemerfan

She was on Ray D'Arcy on Today FM this morning. An absolute delight to listen to her.

biko

Wow, that's loyalty for you.
Fair play Eileen!


Eileen sits on her first new car, a 14.9 Ford, bought in 1923 from Higgins Garage (left).
Today: Eileen behind the wheel of her 23rd Ford, a new Focus (right).

.Longshanks.

Except she said that she hasn't bought all here ford's in the same garage. the paper got that bit wrong.
She said she learned to drive in a Model T aged 12!

peasant

what exactly is a Ford 14.9 ?

Cookie_Monster

Plus it may be the same site but the garage has changed.

23 new cars, doing her bit for the planet anyway :rolleyes:

?Cee?view

Are you all sure it's not the same Garage?

Higgins were originally in William Street, then they moved a few times and eventually ended up where they are now, trading as Motorpark. The Barry's who have been part of Higgins for generations are (I think) in-laws of the original Higgins. Definitely the same business, and there's continuity from the business in William Street to where it is today.

1948Wolseley

peasant wrote: »

what exactly is a Ford 14.9 ?

Looks like a Model A to me, I'm open to correction though. Unfortunately it's not still around, according to Cartell (it was a long shot, really...).

ShadowHearth

dealership could make a present for her imo... atleast 50% of her 2010 car...

peasant

1948Wolseley wrote: »

Looks like a Model A to me,

yepp looks like a model a alright ...there's only one problem

The Ford Model A (1927–1931)

and the picture is supposed to be from 1923

robtri

if its 1923 .. doesn't it have to be the 14.9hp Model T saloon

carchaeologist

robtri wrote: »

if its 1923 .. doesn't it have to be the 14.9hp Model T saloon

I reckon so too,besides it says it in the article,though im no expert in that era car..
Its a 1929 Galway number too as IM 3020 to IM 3299 were registered in that year.

Absurdum

unkel wrote: »

Eileen began driving when just aged 12

ZOMG girl racer alert, someone call Uncle Gaybo :eek::rolleyes::p

Cookie_Monster

churchview wrote: »

Are you all sure it's not the same Garage?

Higgins were originally in William Street, then they moved a few times and eventually ended up where they are now, trading as Motorpark. The Barry's who have been part of Higgins for generations are (I think) in-laws of the original Higgins. Definitely the same business, and there's continuity from the business in William Street to where it is today.

sorry got it backwards.

Alanstrainor

Fair play indeed. I wish my granny would buy me a new ford....:pac:

Ush1

Should put a sticker in on my Focus, "Granny Approved".:pac:
Good story!