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Gordon Bennett Motor Race 1903
Leinster Leader, Saturday 16 May 1903 – Page 6
KILDARE CO. COUNCIL.
SUGGESTED HIRING OF STEAM ROLLERS.
OBJECTIONS TO CONTRACTS.
At the quarterly meeting of this Council on Monday Mr. S. J.
Brown, chairman presided. Also present:- Lord Frederick Fitzgerald,
Messrs. A. More O’Ferrall, D.L.; L. Malone, Geo. Woulfe, C. Bergin, J. S.
O’Grady, John Healy, John Kelly (Ballitore), Jas. Sunderland, E.
Heydon, Thos. Keatley, O. Cogan, John Quinn, P. J. Doyle.
…
THE MOTOR RACE.
A letter was read from Mr. J. W. Orr, secretary of the Automobile
Club, asking the permission of the Council to erect a grand
stand and bridge across the Athy-Kilcullen Road, about half a mile south of the
Ballyshannon cross roads, on land belonging on one side to Mr. Peter Dunne and
on the other to Mrs. Hendy, from June 25th to July 4th, to allow time for erection
and taking down.- The permission was granted, subject to the
approval of the County Surveyor.
Permission was granted on like terms to Mrs. Margaret Quinn
to erect a refreshment marquee during the motor race week on
the travelled space between her house and the courthouse.
…
COUNTY SURVEYORS REPORT.
“The International Motor Race is to be held in Ireland this year
early in July, and about two-thirds of the course will be in County Kildare – the
balance being in Carlow and Queen’s County. The Automobile Club suggests
some extra care on the part of the contractors, as well as altering road
levels at a few bridges and culverts. Steam rolling a short length of the
Ballylinan road near Athy is also included in the estimate. For this work
the Club will pay, and I am authorised to spend about £650 of the
Club’s money. I request authority from the County Council to do so.
Apart altogether from the motor race that is about to take place in July,
and the great future possibilites of the course being the motor centre
for the world, I think the time has more than come for the County Council
to make a beginning at steam rolling. Kildare is greatly behind other counties
in this respect. I now very strongly recommend the Council to make a beginning,
and to authorise me to hire steam rollers during the coming season at a
cost not exceeding £200. Part of this £200 I would undoubtedly
recommend being expended on the race course between now and July, and the
balance upon such other most important bits of roads that are bad, such
as near Celbridge. I therefore beg to suggest something like the following– “That
this Council authorise the County Surveyor to hire steam rollers for use
upon roads of the County, the cost of same not to exceed under this resolution
the sum of £200. It is to be left to County Surveyor’s discretion
what portion of this sum can with advantage be expended on any part of
the roads forming the Gordon-Bennett course in County Kildare either before
or after 1st July next. Copy of this resolution to be forwarded to the
Local Government Board for approval”. The hire or purchase of steam
rollers is a County at Large charge, but supplying material to roll in
must, of course, be a District charge. Hence if steam rolling in the future
is to be adopted in any large way, I will have to apply at District Councils
for money to get material, but at the present moment, and without any special
proposal from District Council, I could work one or more rollers in shaping
roads having already strong crusts, or rolling in for contractors a large
proportion of their specified material in worst places. For the present
I do not suggest buying a roller or rollers – all I want is to have
a beginning made in a very modest manner and let councillors judge for
themselves. But it is useful to know however that the Local Government
Board will approve of borrowing money for the purchase of rollers. The
Council may not entirely appreciate what a small thing £200 over
the whole County means as regards road expenditure – thus for instance
a pound here and there or a few shilling and pence “struck off” for
small items of neglect on the part of contractors in Kildare for the last
financial year came to £864 13s 9d, and I am now only recommending
that less than one-fourth of this be allocated as a commencement for steam
rolling so as not to lag entirely behind other counties. As I am on this
subject I ought to mention that Carlow Co. Council have authorised their
surveyor to expend £100 in doing steam rolling over the Gordon-Bennett
race course in their county, and there is only about 5 miles long of roads
of the course in Carlow.”
The Chairman said that the Surveyor had made practically the same recommendation to them as regards steam rolling a couple of years ago and a sub-committee was appointed to consider the matter, but for some reason or other that committee never met. Perhaps one reason for the lack of energy shown in the matter at the time was that the Council were seeking to make that reduction in taxation of the county, which ought to have followed the passing of the Local Government Act. They were agreed as to the advisability of making experiments in steam rolling and it would be no great stretch for them now to make those experiments on the course.
The Surveyor, in reply to a question as to the merits of steam rolling, mentioned the Naas to Sallins road, which, he said, was rolled eight years ago, and had been a good road ever since.
The report was approved of, the sum of £200 to be expended on the
hire of a roller or rollers for the purpose of improving such roads as
the surveyor might determine, and as far as possible over the Gordon-Bennett
course.