The Irish Grand Prix also known Irish International Grand Prix was an open-wheel racing car

motor race Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms ''automobile ...

which was held three times on a 4.25 mile circuit laid out in the grounds of

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

.PhoenixParkMotorRaces.org ''The Event''
Retrieved 7 March 2007. The Grand Prix was actually two separate handicap races held under a single banner of the Irish International Grand Prix. Friday's race was for cars up to 1500 cc whose drivers competed for the Saorstát Cup, while on Saturday the drivers in the more powerful cars (over 1500 cc) raced for the Éireann Cup. The overall winner of the Irish Grand Prix was decided by the driver who completed the 300 mile race distance from either the Saorstát Cup or Éireann Cup races in the fastest time over the two days. The first year of the event was 1929 when

Boris Ivanowski Boris Ippolitovich Ivanovsky or Ivanowski () (12 January 1893 - c. 1967) was an officer of the Russian Imperial Guard who went into exile after the Russian revolution and made his way to fame in the 1920s as a racecar driver. Race results Irish ...

, a former imperial officer in the Russian army was dominant, racing and winning both the Saorstát Cup and Éireann Cup races driving an Alfa Romeo to claim the inaugural Irish Grand Prix. In the Saorstát Cup race his victory margin was over a minute ahead of

Sammy Davis Sammy Davis may refer to: * Sammy Davis (racing driver) (1887–1981), British journalist and motor racing driver * Sammy Davis (footballer) (1900–1988), English footballer * Sammy Davis Sr. (1900–1988), American dancer * Sammy Davis Jr. (192 ...

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Lea-Francis Lea-Francis was a British motor manufacturing company that began by building bicycles. History Richard Henry Lea, R. H. Lea and Graham Francis, G. I. Francis started the business in Coventry in 1895. They branched out into car manufacturing i ...

), finishing in a time of 3h:41m:30s. In the Éireann Cup race it was a much closer battle between Ivanowski's Alfa Romeo and England's

Glen Kidston George Pearson Glen Kidston (23 January 1899 – 5 May 1931) was an English motor racing driver and aviator who completed a record-breaking flight from Netheravon, Wiltshire to Cape Town, South Africa, in 1931. He was one of the " Bentley Boys ...

(

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...

), with the Russian completing the 300 mile race distance in a time of 3h:40m:54s, only 14 seconds ahead of Kidston in second place, followed by

Henry Birkin Sir Henry Ralph Stanley Birkin, 3rd Baronet (26 July 1896 – 22 June 1933), known as Tim Birkin, was a British racing driver, one of the " Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. Background and family Birkin was born into a wealthy Nottingham family in ...

(

) in third. In 1930 Germany's

Rudolf Caracciola Otto Wilhelm Rudolf Caracciola (30 January 1901 – 28 September 1959) was a German racing driver.Bolsinger and Becker (2002), p. 63 He won the European Championship (auto racing), European Drivers' Championship, the pre-1950 equivalent of the m ...

dominated in the Éireann Cup race to claim the Irish Grand Prix for Mercedes. By 1931 the entry of the two races looked markedly different, with smaller cars racing in the Saorstát Cup and larger cars racing in the Éireann Cup.

Winners of the Irish International Grand Prix Races

References

{{reflist Pre-World Championship Grands Prix Auto races in Ireland National Grands Prix Recurring sporting events established in 1929 Phoenix Park