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It's CompleteCar's sad duty to report that Martin Birrane has passed away at the age of 82. The property mogul, racing driver, and racing circuit owner died suddenly on Saturday, June 9th.
Birrane made his fortune (after stints as a hotelier, a butler to the Canadian ambassador to Turkey, and a stint in film and TV production) in property. After some time in Canada, he invested in and joined the Peer Group in London, as managing director. A property investment company which, in 1983 when Birrane joined had assets of just over STG£2 million, today is worth some STG£190 million.
By 1993 though, Birrane was already a very successful racing driver. He'd competed in the British Touring Car Championship, and the Super Saloons series, as well as the F5000 series, which at one time was almost a rival for Formula One. His greatest international success, though, was at Le Mans. In the 1980 24hrs Birrane, with Pink Floyd's Nick Mason and British racer Peter Clarke, guided a Lola T297 to a podium finish in the 2.0-litre class. Five years later, Birrane did even better - steering a BMW M1 Procar, formerly raced by the likes of Hans Stuck, in the GT category, Birrane along with Edgar Doren and Jean-Paul Libert, won the category outright and finished 15th overall. That car still lives in the small, but fascinating, museum at Mondello Park.
It was Mondello Park that would become a labour of love for Birrane. The year after that Le Mans victory, he bought the circuit, describing it as "a wasteland in need of some tender loving care." Today, Mondello is Ireland's only FIA-licenced race track, and under Birrane's watch the track was extended and improved, impressive pit and paddock buildings were constructed, and major series such as the BTCC and FIA Sportscars came to race. This year is the 50th anniversary of the track, and in August there will be a major celebration of the circuit's birthday, which will of course now include a tribute to Birrane himself.
That will also be the case at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year. Lola Cars is one of the featured marques for 2018, and it's the 60th anniversary of the famous race car constructor. Established by the great Eric Broadley, and with F1, Le Mans, and Indycar trophies (as well as those from countless other categories) in its cupboards, Lola went bust in 1997 and Birrane stepped in. He invested heavily, built up new cars for new customers (including a works team for MG at Le Mans, and major Indycar successes, as well as building the chassis for the A1 GP series) and even spreading Lola's interests out into the aerospace field.
It's an irony that, 20 years ago when he bought Lola, Birrane had been heading for retirement. "I had bought a nice place in Killiney. I was going to be spending my time in Mondello, and 20 years later I will be doing just that" he recently told CompleteCar, and would this year also have been celebrating his 60th wedding anniversary.
Martin Birrane is survived by his wife Susan, his loving children Lis, James, Bridget and Amanda and five grandchildren. As a businessman, as a stalwart of Irish and international motor racing, as the man who give Ireland its only proper race track, as a wit and raconteur, and as the man who kept the great Lola name going when no-one else would, he will be seriously missed by the rest of us.