The Retro Cannonball is coming back to Ireland and the petrolhead event is looking to raise money for HOPE, the charity that helps street children and poor families escape from lives of pain, abuse and poverty.
Starts in Belfast
This year, Retro Cannonball starts in Belfast, gathering in front of the iconic Titanic Museum on Friday the 10th of June at 9.30am. The classic car convoy, sponsored by Galway Bay Brewery, will tour some of the magnificent coastal drives in the North and take in Newcastle, Naas, Johnny Fox's, Glendalough, the Wicklow Mountains, the Blessington Lakes and it finishes in Wexford town centre on Saturday, June 11th at 6.30pm.
Want to get up close and personal with some of the coolest classic cars around? Well, you'll be able to and the entry list includes a Lamborghini Diablo, a Jaguar E-Type, a gorgeous Ferrari 328 GTS, some beautiful Mercedes-Benz SL classics, a Lancia Beta, a BMW 635CSI, a Porsche 911 Carrera and a Porsche 911 Targa, an MG Midget, a Ford Escort Cosworth, a beautiful Chevrolet Corvette, a classic VW Beetle, a Ford Thunderbird, and a Mini Cooper.
Festival atmosphere
The route will take a coastal drive in Northern Ireland to Slieve Donard in Newcastle for lunch. The cars then board the Carlingford Lough ferry to Greenore and continue on to Naas in Co Kildare for the first overnight stay. The convoy will arrive in Naas to Poplar Square at 6.30pm with music, family fun and the unique festival atmosphere that Cannonball is renowned for. On Saturday morning, the convoy will depart Naas at 10.30am where, once again, fans of the event can view the cars and meet the drivers. The convoy will continue down the east coast taking in Glendalough, the Dublin mountains, lunch at Johnny Foxes Glencullen at 1pm and then cruising down to Wexford town centre.
This year Cannonball Ireland and Retro Cannonball will raise funds for The HOPE Foundation, an Irish Charity doing incredible work with the street children of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in India. HOPE funds and operates over 60 projects including 11 child protection homes, a hospital, an ambulance, counselling, food and nutrition, education, healthcare and the restoration of childhood to children.
Stunning drives
"We are welcoming cars from the golden era of the 60s,70s, 80s and early 90s to take in stunning drives and many famous Irish landmarks", said Cannonball founder Alan Bannon. "Classic cars not only appeal to car lovers, but also to lovers of engineering, design, art and history. They retain an incurable romance and that is the reason why people do, and always will love classic cars."