My only hope - and I accept it is a folorn one - is that in time to come an enlightened government just might provide a grant to build a decent museum. I will be dead in twenty years so I am not going to be a round when this, if it does at all, happen. All I can do right now is preserve and hope that the next generation appreciates what I have done and will not be inclined to scrap everything.


You have only to read the main page of the website to see what Cork County Council and Readymix are trying to do to the museum already. You tell me what type of mentality exists in their pea sized brains. I am doing what I can to preserve and do not think I have done too bad a job so far. I should empasise that if it was not for my colleagues Francis Dempsey, Padraig Williamson, John Quirke, Roy Kearney, Ross Aitken, Brian Ainsworth, Tony Mc Conn and others I would have got nowhere.


We are thirty buses behind in collecting at the moment, Our priority therefore is this not storage. Once we have caught up then we will start doing something about storage. But again bear in mind we first had to surface two acres of depot. Then fence it. Then office it. Then add water and electricity. No change from 100,000 euro. And do not forget the 20,000 euro of vandalism this summer. I really felt like giving up after that. And there are physical time limitations. Because I am away on railways on all over the world I am not around to do things all the time. Leopard 1571 is now approaching the top of the list. Translink have been superb to us and I cannot speak too highly of John Montgomery who really helps preservation unlike their counterparts in the south who will pay to have vehicles scrapped rather than allow preservationist pay them for them. .


So I have done my best with my limited resources and limited time and advancing age. Time alone will tell if I was correct. I hope I am but in any event I can do no more. I hope this explanation will go some way to answering points raised but what pizzles me is that i have put everything I have, time, money and effort into preserving our heritage. Armchair generals on the boards behave like nasty ******* with their snide comments. Surely they should be glad to see anything preserved? The foreigner never conquered us in Ireland. We always did it ourselves to perfection. They do not even go to the trouble of seeing what we have, would never of course offer to help but think they can dictate policy by some god given right.

I resented the tone of some of the comments re 1571 and I hope fairer readers will read this contribution and I welcome comments which offer solutions. I need all the help I can get but at the end of the day it is a private museum and as such sets what it thinks is an enlightened policy and has to work within my income. Priorities have to be decided upon and be they right or wrong he who pays the piper calls the tune.

Do come and visit us and you will be welcome and this applies to overseas as well. Now how about some rational comments from readers?


Dr. Michael Grimes, Chairman
Kells Transport Museum