The founder of the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford (1863-1947), visited the south of Ireland in 1912. It was a sort of homecoming because his father, William Ford (1826-1905), was born in County Cork. He emigrated to America in 1847. Read my Irishman's Diary in today's Irish Times newspaper to find out more. See it here.
A life size replica of a Ford Model T in Ballinascarthy, Co. Cork, Ireland. Image source.
The Ford plant in the Marina in Cork opened in 1919 and employed many thousands over the years. It eventually closed in 1984 with the loss of 800 jobs but the building still remains even if it is used for other purposes these days. You can get a glimpse of it when things were in full flow on the Henry Ford website. See it here. This site has other interesting items linked to Henry Ford and Ireland, such as maps of where William Ford came from and photographs of people working at the Marina plant over the years.
If you are interested in the history of Ford in Ireland, there is a good short article by Dr Leanne Blaney, entitled 'When Ford Motors Came to Cork', on the Century Ireland website. Read it here.
There is also a PhD thesis by Dr Thomas Grimes, completed at NUI Maynooth, entitled 'Starting Ireland on the Road to Industry: Henry Ford in Cork'. Read it here.
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