An Cosantóir

16 | sliabh na mBan Restoration in progress Before After Paddy Lynch was a driver in the National Army posted to Dublin during the Civil War. As duty driver he often drove General Michael Collins on his tours of the city. On one such occasion while driving Collins on patrol at Mount Street Bridge shots rang out from a nearby build- ing. Collins ordered: "Drive on Lynch!" and Paddy drove the general, his Colt pistol on his knee, to the safety of Beggars Bush Barracks, where the general turned to him and declared: "Lynch, that was close, we were lucky there!" Paddy Lynch moved his family to the Curragh in 1923 and took up a post in the Cavalry Workshops when it was established in 1924. Because Paddy worked in Cavalry Workshops from its formation he was perfectly positioned to keep a watchful eye on Sliabh na mBan, creatively ensuring parts were made available for the car. Sliabh na mBan was always Paddy's priority as a mark of respect to the assassinated General Collins. "Collins was my father's idol," Paddy's son, Pat Lynch, reveals. "He made the case to save Sliabh na mBan be- cause of its link to Collins." After the Emergency the ARRs were deemed fit only for scrapping but Paddy, who had spent the previous 20 years maintaining Sliabh na mBan, in particular, would not al- low that to happen and he intervened. The car was saved from the scrap heap in homage to General Collins. To find a way around the administrative process to keep the car it was taken 'on-charge' as two tonnes of scrap metal; but this was far from scrap metal in the eyes of the Lynches. For the last 65 years Sliabh na mBan has been tenderly cared for in Cavalry Workshops in the Curragh and what is now Vehicle Base Workshops in the Defence Forces Training Centre. Pat Lynch came to work in the workshops, colloquially known as Tin-Town, with his father in 1947 and immedi- ately Paddy began showing his son how to care for his pride and joy, including his personal test to check if the engine was running correctly. "My father would stand an old two-shilling piece on its edge on the top of the cylinder head," he recalls. "It had to remain perfectly still; if the coin fell over the car wasn't in proper working order. It was my father's pride and joy An Cosantóir September 2011 and he instilled in me that it would be my responsibility once he retired." This was the beginning of the handover from father to son of the guardianship of Sliabh na mBan. Paddy Lynch died as the foreman of Tin-Town and some years later, in 1977, Pat became foreman and he gave Sli- abh na mBan the same tender care his late father had. "I drove Sliabh na mBan all over the country, from coun- ty fairs to ceremonial events" he says. "It was always the centre of attention. Everyone wanted to be near a piece of history so closely connected with Michael Collins." As time and a lack of funding took its toll on Sliabh na mBan, driving it became less of a pleasure according to Pat: "It wasn't very edifying. It had become a real banger and you'd be mortified driving it onto parade. The tyres were like net curtains there were so many holes in them!" Eventually some money was made available and Pat slowly nursed Sliabh na mBan back to life and contin- ued to care for the car until his retirement in 1990. The Lynches, however, weren't happy to relinquish care of the car and Pat's son Padraig has been involved in the current project to restore Sliabh na mBan as close as is possible to when it first came out of the Rolls-Royce garage in Woolwich, England. Pat very much approves of the work that has been done on the project. "Words fail me," he says. "I'm astounded by the condition of the car. My father would have been very proud of it." Pat is happy the car is still in safe hands with his son Pa- draig and the incredible work that has been done by Ser- geant Michael Brennan, Corporal Declan Downey and all the staff in Vehicle Base Workshops. He feels that Sliabh na mBan has had a new lease of life and that its current guardians are now understanding the car's significance. "I always felt six foot tall telling people I looked after Sliabh na mBan," Pat says. "You were thought of as 'some- body' because of it. Now this crop can go home and tell their wives and children 'I look after Sliabh na mBan'. That means something." *Sliabh na mBan has been completely refurbished and will be unveiled by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD on September 3rd, Cavalry Day, at Ceannt Barracks in the Defence Forces Training Centre.

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