A Red 1967 Morris MINI
What was your first car ? My first car was a 1967 Morris MINI in Red.
How did it change your life? I had it when I was 16 and had just dropped out of school. ( cars and guitars saved my life ) I drove it around Belfield (UCD) until I could manoevre and park really well. Then I drove it round Woodbine Nutley and Donnybrook until I got my provisional when I was 17. Eventually my Dad copped that I was driving a car with no brakes (!) he took me off the road for a few weeks.
I found a smashing little Triumph Toledo with polished wood dash and chrome trim that I wanted and was buying for about £400 trading the mini against it and a few quid borrowed from Dad. That was a great plan until my Mam was horrified when she got wind of my plan and said I was no way getting something that fast so she chose me a fiat Bambino 127 that was about 3 years old. I had that for about 3 or 4 years after which a lad up the road bought it and fixed it up for himself.
What was your best memory or most memorable moment in the car?Lots of memories – met my hubby when I had the mini and drove it for our first date. Bambino memory was one night in the Kingstown Pierrrot playing pool with a pal. We both realised too late that we didn’t have enough between us to pay. So we did a runner up through Dun Laoghaire pursued by the the guy and made our getaway in the little car that probably for the only time ever started first time.
What was your worst memory associated with the car? My worst memory of the Bambino was an accident I had in it. Someone chased a bunch of horses that stampeded in terror out into traffic on the loughlinstown dual carriageway and one of them fell onto my car and flattened the roof down on me like a pancake. Neither me nor passenger were badly hurt but very frightening.
Karen Tighe
19th August, 2014
