They're no longer rolling off the production lines, but for this driver the Ford Fiesta was a passport to freedom and independence... For Sunday Miscellany on RTÉ Radio 1, listen to Fiesta Moments, by Noelle Lynskey above...
I can still picture him – leaning over the gate, watching the world. His elbows, patched with leatherette, never stirred? as I tried to bring my steering wheel back under control. Taking both sides of a thankfully wide stretch of road, I had no idea what had happened. Back in the early 1980s there were no mobile phones so when I managed to stop and take a breath, it was this wise Kilkenny man who nodded at me.
Shaking, I stepped out and circled my precious Fiesta*. Just moments before, I'd been sailing from Durrow towards Ballyraggett when BANG, there was a sound like a gun shot, and I was swerving all over the road. Now, as I examined what was left of my front tyre, I saw the ribbons of rubber, evidence of my blow out.
I was mad for the road back then...
Listen to more from Sunday Miscellany here.
