Stories of the Ireland Rally – Terrific Tuesday – 19th May 2026

You may have already seen the Celebration video, and may have also read the first of our Stories of the Ireland Rally.

Read on to find out about what happened on day 2 – Terrific Tuesday!

A bright start (at least for our members, if not the weather) saw us assembling in the foyer at 9am for our rally briefing. Dolly gave us a great outline of what the plan was, and how we were going to pull it off!

The first stop for Tuesday was Glendalough. Dolly planned a truly stunning route through the Wicklow Gap, where we were able to take in the Wicklow Mountain Range. The scenery was breath-taking and it was a privilege to be able to drive our little cars through such a wonderful landscape.

We made our way down to Glendalough which is the site of an early Christian monastic site, founded (appropriately enough) by St Kevin. We didn’t see any sign of St Sue though… We had a look around the visitor centre and watched a fil about the history of Glendalough before splitting into two groups for a tour of the site. The monastic site was very peaceful and spiritual. It features a large round tower, 30m in height, which served as a bell tower, a watch tower and a place of refuge. It was very imposing and was a very useful landmark for everyone to help guide them to where they needed to be, as it has done for centuries before our visit.

We had a picnic at Glendalough generously sponsored by Dunnes Haulage, though unfortunately due to some showers it wasn’t possible to sit outside. A nearby café kindly allowed us to use their facilities for a short period so we could eat without getting soaked! A bit of free time followed for those who wanted to wander a little further before returning to the cars for 4pm to travel in convoy on to Newbridge Silverware.

Newbridge Silverware was a fascinating venue. Well known historically for its high quality silver cutlery, this business has diversified in order to expand and thrive where others have withered. Newbridge Silverware has the most beautiful shop, stocking a range of jewellery, homewares, Christmas decorations, as well as cutlery. Our members had the privilege of a tour of the factory from the manager, Ronan, whose love for the whole venue was apparent to all. We learnt about the history of cutlery making which began with machines bough from the British Army more than 100 years ago and which still remain operational, although the market for the cutlery is much reduced.

The way that the business has sought to diversify was inspirational, not least when we had the incredible opportunity to view the Museum of Style Icons which featured clothes from Hollywood royalty including Audrey Hepburn, Barbra Sreisand, Rita Heyworth, and Marilyn Monroe to name but a few. Dresses belonging to Diana, Princess of Wales, outfit owned by The Beatles, and from Boy George also featured in the collection, as well as *that* shirt belonging to Colin Firth from ‘Pride and Prejudice’.

After touring the exhibition, members were treated to a three course dinner, with Irish music and dancing from some world class dancers. The performances were superb, with clapping, singing along, and great craic for all!

Then a drive back to the hotel, and bed – ready for another busy day to come.

Enjoy the Gallery of Photos below…