Great NIIMC weekend at Sligo 100 event

The bank holiday weekend at the end of August arrived and NIIMC members assembled at our central meeting point – McDonalds at Sprucefield on Saturday morning before we set off on our trip to Sligo to join fellow Italian car enthusiasts for the Sligo 100 event, being organised by members of Classic Fiat Ireland.

The weather forecast looked promising and after some caffeine to kick start us we set off on the first leg of the journey and headed 30 or so miles down the M1 for a courtesy call at Donnelly’s Fiat showroom outside Dungannon.  Stuart  Pedlow, the manager, had invited us to call in and we were delighted to receive some hospitality in the form of sandwiches, traybakes and tea/coffee –  thank you Stuart for your generosity and for taking the time to welcome us.  After some photos we departed and travelled the short distance to Corick House Hotel outside Clogher where the Club Chairman had promised us coffee and scones. We received a warm reception and didn’t expect such interest in our cars, especially from two of the female members of staff. One was a self confessed Vauxhall fan but appreciated the Italian style and beauty in the hotel carpark and after some more photos (for the hotel facebook page) we set off again for Sligo.

Those who weren’t content to travel at a modest pace disappeared up the road ahead of us, our suspicion being that as the beer in the hotel bar came highly recommended they were thirsty for a pint of unleaded.  Meanwhile the rest of us headed through Enniskillen, Blacklion and on to Sligo. According to the itinerary those participating in the Targa Sligo were due to arrive at the local beauty spot, the Glencar waterfall at the same time that we were passing,  so after a short detour we arrived at the carpark and waited for some Italian style to appear.  Lo and behold within a few minutes they arrived,  so apart from the wonderful natural scenery we were able to admire the impressive mix of Italian machinery, which included some rare models  not often seen on our roads.

A short final leg brought us to our overnight halt – Yeates Country Hotel at Rosses Point. After checking in to our rooms  and tucking our cars in for the evening  we joined the early arrivals in the bar for some liquid refreshment .   Dermot Guilfoyle had kindly invited NIIMC members to join him and the rest of the participants for dinner. Dinner was duly served and it was clean plates all round before our Club Chairman took to the floor (following a gentle prompt from Simon) to thank Dermot and fellow organisers for inviting NIIMC members to participate in the Italian 100 event.

The evening continued and some retired to bed at a sensible hour. Others who don’t get out too often didn’t and made merry until the wee small hours. The next morning after a substantial and tasty breakfast everyone gathered and prepared to set off for the Italian 100 gathering at Sligo airport. The convoy of 25+ Italian cars cruising from Rosses Point to the airport was quite a sight and we even picked up a few more NIIMC members along the way – they had set off early from the outskirts of Belfast and driven down for the event.

On arrival we duly registered at the check in desk and put up our NIIMC gazebo. In total we had 18 NIIMC cars on display, representing almost 20% of the total number of cars at the show. The magic 100 figure  wasn’t quite reached but that did not detract from the impressive range of vehicles that had arrived and the organisational ability of Dermot and his team of volunteers.

I will let the photographs speak for themselves but  cars that were definitely worth a mention were the Fiat 128 3P, Fiat 600, Fiat 127, Fiat 128, a selection of Fiat 132’s and more Fiat X/19’s than I have ever seen in the one place. It was also pleasing to see some Ferraris, a selection of Lancias, Alfas old and new and the real head turner of the show, an orange Lamborghini Huracan which everyone ran to take photos of as soon as it arrived.

The warmth and friendly atmosphere at the show was noted by all and despite some dark clouds the weather stayed dry. After the presentation of awards members departed and set off on their journey back home.  Everyone agreed that the weekend was thoroughly enjoyable and vowed to make this a diary fixture again next year.

Enjoy the photographs.

Tim Logan
Club Secretary