John Fallon Colohan
John Fallon Colohan (c. 1862 – 27 August 1932) was an Irish physician who, in the late 1890s, imported the first petrol-powered car into Ireland.[a] Described in a number of sources as "Ireland's first motorist",[1][2][3] he was a founder member of the Irish Automobile Club.[4]
Early life and education
Colohan was born in Dublin c. 1862.[5][b] A Roman Catholic,[6] his father was the manager of the Hibernian Bank in Dublin, and he was a relative of the songwriter Arthur Colahan.[7] He studied medicine at Edinburgh Medical School, qualifying as a physician and surgeon in 1892. He practised in London, Long Ditton, Dublin, and Athenry.[7] He also reputedly studied motor engineering in Germany and learned how to drive in France.[5]
Motoring
In c. 1897, Colohan imported what is reputed to be the first petrol-engined motorcar into Ireland, an 1896 Benz Velo Comfortable.[1][4][8] He won a bet (a wager of £50), in 1899, by driving from his home in Blackrock, County Dublin to Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, and back again, in under 12 hours.[1]
In 1901, he placed an order for a four-cylinder 24 h.p. Daimler, which he "boosted to near 30 h.p." to make it the largest and "most powerful car in the country" at the time.[5] Involved in motor racing and touring in Ireland, he negotiated with the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland to form the (Royal) Irish Automobile Club in 1901, becoming a founder and committee member.[5] He was involved in bringing the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup to Ireland.[5]
Colohan had ceased practicing medicine by 1903 and became a controlling partner in a coachbuilding company in Dublin. He promoted the company's expansion into a motoring engineering works and stockist.[5] He left this company in 1908, due to ill health, and bought the Grand Hotel in Malahide.[5]
Later life and death
Colohan, who was married and widowed twice,[9] left Ireland and moved to England in 1922.[5] He lived near Marlowe on Thames in Berkshire, where he became known as an eccentric and for his indulgence in alcohol.[5][7] He died at his home, Dean Cottage, at Cookham Dean, in August 1932.[5][9] He left the majority of his estate, £15,171 (equivalent to £1,330,000 in 2023), to his valet of 13 years, whom Colohan described as like a son to him.[10]
Colohan's first car, a Benz Velo, was purchased and restored in the 1980s,[11] and, as of 2017, was on display (as part of a private collection) in Dublin.[3] An 1890s photograph of the car, including Colohan and his first wife, was represented on an Irish postage stamp in 1989.[5]
References
Notes
- ^ The first car imported into Ireland may have been a steam-powered (French) Gardner-Serpollet, imported by John Brown of Belfast in 1896. Other sources suggest that John Malcolm Gillies, editor of the Freeman's Journal, imported a (German) Benz car later in 1896.[8] Colohan's purchase is sometimes dated to 1896 or 1897.[4] Other sources suggest that Colohan's Benz Velo was an 1898 model.[3][11]
- ^ While the Dictionary of Irish Biography gives a date of birth in 1862, other sources (including the 1901 census record) support a date in 1864 or 1865.
Sources
- ^ a b c Cunningham, Eddie (31 May 1999). "Celebrating 100 years motoring in Ireland". Irish Independent. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
Dr John Fallon Colohan [..is..] the man renowned as the owner of Ireland's first petrol motor car (an 1896 Benz Velo Comfortable)
- ^ O'Donovan, John (1983). Wheels and Deals: People and Places in Irish Motoring. Gill and Macmillan. p. 8. ISBN 9780717112920.
Colohan owns the distinction of having been the first Irishman to take up motoring
- ^ a b c Dowdall, Denis (2017). "Mercedes-Benz Motor Museum Dublin" (PDF). IVVCC News. No. Summer 2017. Irish Veteran & Vintage Car Club. p. 18.
This [Benz Velo] car was originally owned by Dr. John Colohan, a former owner of The Grand Hotel in Malahide, Dublin, and who has been recorded as Ireland's first motorist
- ^ a b c Moody, Theodore William; Martin, Francis X.; Byrne, Francis John, eds. (1976). A New History of Ireland (Volume 6). Clarendon Press. p. xxxi. ISBN 9780199583744.
Dr John Fallon Colohan [..imported..] the first petrol-engined car in Ireland [..] a 31⁄2 h.p. Benz Velo Comfortable imported in 1896x1897 by Colohan, who in addition to his medical practice was a qualified engineer [..] and a founder member of the Irish Automobile Club
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Andrews, Helen (October 2009), "Colohan, John Fallon Sydney", Dictionary of Irish Biography, Royal Irish Academy, doi:10.3318/dib.001882.v1
- ^ "Residents of a house 26.1 in Rock Hill (Part of) (Blackrock, Dublin)", Ireland, Census, 1901
- ^ a b c Ó Cearbhaill, Diarmuid (2002). "The Colahans - A Remarkable Galway Family". Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society. 54: 135–136. JSTOR 25573627.
- ^ a b Blaney, Leanne (10 July 2020). "When the motorcar first came to Ireland". Ireland's Own. p. 5. Archived from the original on 17 August 2020.
The car is the two-seater Benz Comfortable which Colohan had imported in to the country following the legislation of the 1896 Light Locomotives Act. Arguably, it was the first petrol engined car imported into Ireland
- ^ a b Bow, June; Poff, Karen (September 2021). "Colohan Family of Woodville, Rock Road, Blackrock". Stillorgan Genealogy & History. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ "Valet Who Was like a Son – A Testator's Gratefulness". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 1 November 1932. p. 1. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Ireland's First Car Comes Home". RTÉ.ie. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2024.