When you think of Mercedes Benz you instantly think of luxurious motor vehicles, but you might not instantly think about their deep Irish heritage. Over the next few weeks we’ll be filling you in on lots of different Mercedes Benz info and trivia that you might not have already known. So where better to kick things off then with the History of the company in Ireland.
It might be hard to believe that Mercedes has a strong Irish heritage behind them, but they do and it stems all the way back to the 1940’s thanks to one man and the Volkswagen franchise.
It all began with a man called Stephen O’Flaherty from Passage East in Co. Waterford. It might not have been apparent at the time, but O’Flaherty would soon change the face of Irish motoring for the better.
Way, way back in the 1930’s, O’Flaherty worked for the Ford Motor Company in Co. Cork before eventually making his way up to Dublin to work for McCairns Motors. It wasn’t long before he rose up the ranks to become the Secretary and General Manager of the company.
In 1939, just as World War Two began to heat up, O’Flaherty left McCairns Motors to go work for a small engineering company called Howard McGarvey & Sons, based in Townsend Street, Dublin.
At the time, Howard McGarvey & Sons specialised in servicing steam engines and steam-powered trucks. However, by 1946 O’Flaherty had managed to turn the company into a thriving car business and in 1948 Howard McGarvey & Sons became the first head quarters of MDL (Motor Distributors Ltd.), which is now the parent company of MSL Ballsbridge Motors, located on the Shelbourne Road.
In 1949 O’Flaherty set about securing the VW franchise for Ireland. This was the first sign that Ireland would soon become a manufacturing hub for both Volkswagen and Mercedes – one of the first outside Germany.
By June 1950, O’Flaherty managed to secure the franchise for VW here in Ireland and in doing so, moved the business from Townsend Street to the location where Ballsbridge Motors stands today. So if you walk into their showroom you’re actually walking into some prime Irish motoring history.
In case you’re wondering that’s the shine from a light, although some might see it as a halo
Production for the very first VW built outside of Germany – the VW Beetle – began in the new factory on the Shelbourne Road. The car was once on show in MDL’s HQ on the Nass Road, but it has since moved back to Germany where it’s currently on display in the German HQ. We bet you didn’t know Ireland had such close ties with the Beetle?
In 1952 O’Flaherty moved the manufacturing side of VW from the old tram depot on the Shelbourne Road to the current HQ on the Nass Road (it’s the building with the rotating Mercedes sign, you know the one).
Then, in November 1954, he secured the franchise for Mercedes and began assembling them at the Ballsbridge location. It wasn’t until the early 1960’s that O’Flaherty would move the Mercedes side of the assembly out to the Nass Road, where, as we said above, the company is still located to this day.
Sadly, the assembly of Mercedes came to a halt in 1977, the same year as assembly on the Beetle stopped. However, the history of both production lines lives on in the spirit of the company and there’s lots of information about the early days that can be found throughout the MSL showroom on the Shelbourne road.
Ireland’s relationship with two of the greatest car manufactures the world has ever seen is a deep and meaningful one, and to think, it all started with one man.
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