A similar Dublin Built Morris Minor outside the preserved façade of the Brittains Factory which assembled Morris Minors from CKD kits on Rathmines Bridge in Portobello Dublin
In a quiet corner of Dublin’s south inner city, tucked into the historic Liberties, a remarkable automotive story has just come back to life.
Classic car dealer David Golding has uncovered something truly special, a one-owner Morris Minor, lovingly kept for an extraordinary 60 years.
The car remained in the same location throughout that time, in the historic Tenters area of the Liberties in Dublin’s south inner city. It was originally assembled less than two miles away at the Brittains factory on the Grand Canal at Rathmines Bridge, from a CKD (completely knocked down) kit.
The original purchase receipt shows the car was sold in 1966 by Dublin dealer Murphy and Gunn of Rathgar for £371 and 5 shillings.
David explains that he was contacted by the executor of the late owner’s estate. The owner, a single lady, lived with her sister in a house dating from 1922, the same year she was born, according to the 1926 Census. The census also records her father as a cooper at the nearby Guinness Brewery. Notably, the houses on this street were among the first built in the early years of the Irish Free State.
Although last taxed and insured in 2020, the car started immediately when connected to a booster pack.
It has now been returned to David’s premises, coincidentally located adjacent to the original Murphy and Gunn garage where the car was first sold in 1966 neatly bringing its story full circle.
David commented:
“It is such a thrill and rarity now to acquire a 60-year-old classic car from single ownership. There cannot be many others remaining with this level of provenance.”
The car is now being offered for sale via a no-reserve online auction, where it is hoped it will find a sympathetic new custodian.
