Gay Byrne travels in style arriving to present The Late Late Show in a car from a classic film.
The Vintage, Veteran and Classic Car Exhibition at Leopardstown organised by the Daimler and Jaguar Club of Ireland is raising funds for Saint Michael's House.
Billed as the biggest selection of vintage, veteran and classic cars ever assembled in Ireland, the exhibition features hundreds of vehicles, including the original car from the film 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.
'The Late Late Show' opens with presenter Gay Byrne arriving at the RTÉ studios in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, driven by its owner, Pierre Picton. He leads a convoy of vintage vehicles, including an 1898 chain-driven Panhard with solid cart wheels and tiller steering, and a 1925 Daimler, both owned by Jim Boland.
Further back in the convoy is a 1925 four-cylinder FIAT with an unusual history. Originally owned by a man living on Leinster Square in Rathmines, it was later left to a priest in Mount Argus and eventually came into the ownership of Tom O’Neill.
Seated in the back of the FIAT is Mrs Brown (comedian Brendan O’Carroll) a well known fan of Gay Byrne. Mrs Brown helps Gay select a winner of a prize from the studio audience. Mary Conneely from Skerries is chosen, though there is some confusion about exactly what she has won. Gay Byrne reveals that there is a family ticket to the ESSO Vintage, Veteran and Classic Car Exhibition for everyone in the audience.
This episode of The Late Late Show was broadcast on 24 May 1996. The reporter is Gay Byrne.
