The VW Beetle and the Irish.
A Love story.
Cathal O’Rourke writes:
I am currently researching for a book on Volkswagen in Ireland which will cover the factory in Dublin, the staff, the dealer network and also the many owners around the country. I also want to show how the humble Beetle and its many siblings became part of Irish life, be that happy or sad.
If you have a beetle story to share, why not pop on to Beetle.ie and see some of the 400+ VWs uploaded to our census and also a selection of stories submitted by people….
Name those years from top above, anyone?
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My family dog was killed by one on the old N4. He only ever chased tractors – but the Beetle engine confused him. His name was TD but once dead I renamed him Beetlejuice.
HZM – Galway 1973
ZV – Import plate
UIE – Clare 1972/3
EIT – Leitrim 1974/5
ZV = Vintage
https://www.revenue.ie/en/importing-vehicles-duty-free-allowances/guide-to-vrt/vehicle-registration-tax/zz-registrations-vintage-vehicles-and-zv-plates.aspx
In the case of Leitrim, “IT” would have been the original county indicator.
As registrations rose, an extra letter was added to the start of the sequence, rising in alphabetical order.
As young fellas we used to wonder would Leitrim ever reach the letter “T” – not much hope of course.
Emilio’s yer only man.
I always wanted one of those. I even had hatched a plan to buy a brand new Mexican or Brazilian made one.
Then I grew old…
ah. be glad you didn’t go that South American route…they’re a heap of crp full of all sorts of comprises to suit more modern manufacture & life and you wouldn’t have ever really felt you had a genuine article
best try for a well sorted resto pre-74 type 1 they can still be got across the water but prices climbing quite strong.