Prior to the opening of the circuit all racing in Ireland had taken place on closed public roads but with safety becoming a big issue the days of the street circuit were numbered and with the demise of the last track at Dunboyne a permanent circuit was badly needed.
The original 1. The circuit hosted European F events in its early years and attracted massive crowds for its international events but took a few years to build a local competitor base. All three now have corners named after them at the circuit.
Lola was founded nearly 45 years ago and for years, its single-seat cars dominated indy racing, but the company fell on hard times. Birrane bought the business from the receiver at the end of , for an undisclosed sum. Since then, the automotive and engineering sides have also been built up. Racing is very up and down; you can make a lot of money but you can also lose a lot.
Timewise, he spends half his time working with his property interests, about 25 to 30 per cent on Lola Cars and the rest on everything else, including Mondello Park. He's as keen as ever on racing, with more than 35 years experience behind the wheel, including many wins at such circuits as Brands Hatch and Le Mans.
He's done all kinds of racing, including the Le Mans 24 hour no fewer than 10 times. He comments: "I'm still testing cars and racing and I plan to do some racing this year, but I'm just so busy. Sitting in the study of his Irish home, at Killiney Co Dublin, which he's currently selling, and seeing the countless photographs and paintings of motor racing, it's clear that it's a subject never far from the front of Martin Birrane's interests and commitments, and that includes Mondello Park.
Please update your payment details to keep enjoying your Irish Times subscription. Mondello Man Wed, Jun 18, , More from The Irish Times Motors. Home energy upgrades are now more important than ever. The ratings Videos. Top 50 cars for Our favourite new car buys. Top We count down the best cars for Sign In. Don't have an account? Forgot Password? The country has a rich history of racing — with motorsport initially banned in mainland Britain, it was the Emerald Isle which held the first events in the early s.
A variety of street and closed public road circuits were used across both the Republic and Northern Ireland, but with increasing safety risks, one by one they died out. A racer and businessman, he realised that what Irish motorsport needed was a permanent home, rather than another road race venue. The search was therefore on for somewhere suitable to set up shop. It seemed an ideal location and an agreement was soon struck. Intended to be compact but challenging, the new course was named after Mondello, a suburb in Palermo, Sicily, where the famous Targa Florio road race took place.
Despite difficulties in construction, particularly around drainage, the new circuit opened its doors on time on May 12, An estimated crowd of , turned out to watch the first races, with traffic forming long queues to get in. John Keaney won the first ever race in an Austin Cooper S.
In the Duckhams Loop was added as the second phase of development, bringing the lap length up to 1. Still relatively modest in size compared to other tracks, Mondello nevertheless soon attracted the big-block F cars as a feature, with the first Guards Championship race being held in July David Hobbs sped to victory in a Surtees TS5 in what was to be a regular fixture on the calendar until While the largely overseas visitors from F proved popular with the crowds, it took a little longer for the national racing scene to establish itself.
However, the introduction of Formula Ford in the s proved the catalyst for a series of young drivers to begin to emerge as bright prospects for the international stage.
All three now have corners on the circuit named in their honour. The track also hosted British and European championship motorcycle races, providing a major platform from emerging local racers as well, such as Dubliner Eddie Laycock. He would go on to take two Isle of Man TT wins, as well as enjoying a top flight motorcycle career, racing in the World Championships for four years from As the s progressed the circuit began to run into financial difficulties as the Irish economic recession hit hard.
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