1906 Irish Automobile Club
The Irish Automobile Club. [1]
At the annual general meeting of the Irish Automobile Club, held in the Clubhouse on the 22nd instant, the following officials were duly appointed:—
Patron
His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant
President
Right Hon. Sir Horace Plunkett, K.C.V.O.
Vice-presidents
Right Hon. the Earl of Drogheda
Right Hon. the Marquis of Waterford
Chairman
Sir William G. D. Goff, Bart., D.L.
Vice-chairman
Thomas Talbot Power
Hon. Secretary
Edward White
Hon. Treasurer
Walter Sexton.
General committee
B. Barrett,
Hum. Bland,
Henry S. Close,
J. M. Davies,
J. B. Dunlop, Junior
S. Geoghegan,
J. Ellis Goodbody,
Frederick Hall,
C. Wisdom Hely,
Thomas Henshaw,
E. C. Herdman,
W. B. Jameson,
Colonel R. Chaloner Knox,
R. J. Mecredy,
R. Murdoch,
G. O'Grady,
Thomas L. Plunkett,
Charles W. Segrave,
Colonel H. D. Thomas,
Major E. H. C. Wellesley.
The accounts disclosed a very satisfactory state of affairs. There was a balance on the year's working of £218 17s. 9d. from which had to be deducted the debit balance of the previous year of £128 15s.11d., leaving a nett balance of £90 1s. 10d. This debit was incurred in connection with the Portmarnock meeting. The income of the club amounted to £771 16s. 8d., of which £557 9s. 6d. was subscriptions and entrance fees. The membership has since materially increased, and the present year should be even more prosperous.
The annual report, which was read at the meeting, and appeared in our last issue, also disclosed a very satisfactory state of affairs. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the Dublin daily and evening Press for the fair-minded way in which they had dealt with motoring throughout the season. In seconding the motion, Colonel White urged that drivers ought to be more careful. He had seen a car driven through Baggot-street at, at least, twenty miles an hour. The Chairman pointed out that the committee had done everything in their power to prevent fast driving in the city, and with great success. A number of motorists had been warned from time to time. In all probability the driver referred to was not a member of the club. He added, that the automobilists in Ireland were deeply indebted to the Press for keeping them straight and giving them all the support they deserved.
In connection with this meeting a most sympathetic leader appeared in the Irish Times of the 23rd inst., which congratulated the Club on the patronage of the Lord Lieutenant, the exclusive control which they had secured of all automobile movements in Ireland, and the, zealous and energetic way in which the members of the committee have dealt with the work of the Club. The article went on to point out that in England the commercial aspect of motoring is daily looming more largely before us, and referring to the failure of the Iveagh-Pirrie scheme to materialise, attributes this to the "petty-spirited policy and want of foresight" of some of the County Councils, who declined to put their roads into proper order. A suggestion is also made that this state of affairs is due, to some extent, to the popular animus against motoring, and adds that this ill-feeling has greatly calmed down of late.