The unique history and story of this car in Kilkenny

Recently I received an email from a lady in the UK with a terrific story about her grandfather’s car.

Lorna Mayer from Coventry told of the amazing journey and love for a Ford Escort. Tom and Kathleen Connors lived on the Kilkenny Road outside Callan and had five children. This was a period of time after World War Two and work wasn’t plentiful.

Tom moved to Coventry in the late 1940s, leaving his wife and children behind, so as he could find steady work and when set up, his wife and children followed him in 1951, where they set up home.

During that period Coventry was one of the midlands of England hubs for the building and manufacturing of motor cars and tractors. Tom worked at Standard Triumph at first before moving to work at Massey Ferguson.

Working in that industry Tom developed a love of cars and went above and beyond in caring for them.

The draw of Callan was too much for Kathleen and Tom, who returned to their home in the 1970s. Tom bought the 1981 Escort in 1981 with the Registration Number 83 IIP. It was a familiar car around Callan.

His grandson Myles picks up the story:
“The Ford Escort was garaged and maintained by him, he would always treat the underside of his cars with a wax oil/engine oil mix, and would regularly switch the wheels around, so the tyres wore evenly.”

The Ford Escort is 42 years old and has racked up a mileage of 61,000, which equates to an average of 1,500 per year. The car includes a tow bar which was added by Tom to hook up a trailer so he could travel with Kathleen to the peat bogs in Galway.

When Tom and Kathleen passed away, their home in Callan was left to the family, along with the Ford Escort. The home was used for family holidays and the Escort was there for those to use as transport. On one of the families visits to Ireland in 2012, the beloved Escort was displayed at one of the field days at the Abbey Meadow.

Myles took ownership of the Ford Escort in October 2022 and drove it back to his home in Windsor. Even after 42 years, the Escort never skipped a beat - it drove like a dream.

In early June Myles brought the newly registered Ford Escort 1.3GL to the MotoFest in Coventry. The festival is a celebration of motoring nostalgia.

“The intention is to show the car at MotoFest so the family can visit the car as it holds fond memories of our granddad and holidays in Ireland,” said Myles. “It’s in original condition, has never been altered and the intention is to keep it that way.”

Myles wants to maintain his grandfather’s Ford Escort and just enjoys driving it.

“It is still going strong and it will be around for many more years to come,” he said. “Just the smell of the interior brings back fond memories of Granddad Tom and many happy holidays in Ireland.”

It is certainly obvious that Tom Connor’s grandson Myles inherited his caring regard for motor cars and no doubt that beloved family Ford Escort will continue its long and loving life in the care of Myles Hannon at his home in Windsor in England.

Sadly the connection with Callan will not be as frequent as the Connors children have now sold the old family home.