Sixty years of snapping at Stradbally Steam Rally in Laois

Reknowned Laois photographer Michael Scully, aged 78 and still busy working, has been covering  Stradbally Steam Rally since 1965.

He is looking forward to taking more photos at the 60th celebration this August Bank Holiday weekend for the Leinster Express / Laois Live. 

It is a meaningful event for Michael, as while a longtime resident of Portarlington, he himself is a Stradbally native.

He grew up on the family farm nestled in the scenic Windy Gap on the way to Carlow, a farm now run by his brother Tom.

“I have colour slides from the first steam rally, on December 27 1965. That was the first real rally, it travelled from Court Square to Market Square and was stationary there for a few hours. There was a good attendance. It was a sunny, frosty day.

“I think Stradbally was one of the first in Ireland to hold major steam rallies.

“From 1966 it gathered in the Cosby estate and it developed over the years. It wasn’t just steam, there were all sorts of vintage and stationary machines, which used belt drives to do things like saw timber.

“In the 70s there were huge attendances, from all over Ireland. One year they had a hot air balloon. In later years they held helicopter rides and I went up to take aerial shots. I got a shot of the town with the windy gap in the background, that was a special one for me. 

A spread from the Leinster Express special 9-page 60th anniversary feature on Stradbally Steam Rally, in shops this week.

“I would go over and bring my wife Mae to visit my cousin’s house, I’d go and take the pictures, go back home for tea and print the photographs, then come back and collect Mae,” Michael said. 

He has only missed two years of the rally, when he was working as a general photographer up in Sligo, doing up to two weddings a day, leaving no time for visiting home. 

“I remember just one year it was called off on Sunday because it was so wet,” he said.

It had occasional special guests over the years too.

“I remember the actor Noel Purcell being there. One year Tom McGurk and Aine O’Connor from RTÉ were guests, that caused a stir,” Michael said.

“It’s just a brilliant family day out because while you have to pay in, parking is free, you can even bring a caravan.

“They have recently injected new ideas into it to keep it fresh. It’s open to families now rather than just enthusiasts. There’s lots of vintage cars, and they added live music. I’m looking forward to the first street festival this year,” he said.

It will be a busy weekend for the couple, as they are invited to a 60th wedding anniversary on the Saturday. There is a big connection to the groom and the steam rally.

“It’s my friend Oliver McCrossan, a photographer in Newbridge, he went to the first rally too and actually has the programme from it. He hopes to make it over himself on Sunday,” Michael said.

See Michael's photos of Stradbally Steam Rally over the past 60 years, in a special 9 page feature in the current Leinster Express on sale in shops now.