Beetle.ie aims to celebrate Ireland’s unique position in VW’s global history as the first country outside of Germany to manufacture the Beetle. Our history goes right back to 1950 when the late Stephen O’Flaherty took a gamble on a quirky and untested car from Germany, only a few short years after the end of WW2 and opened a manufacturing plant in an old tram depot on Shelbourne Road, Dublin.
To this depot, VW stamped wooden crates would be delivered from Wolfsburg, Germany containing Beetles in CKD (Completely Knocked Down) form. The small Irish workforce began producing VW Beetles in small numbers but demand quickly grew and production moved to a larger plant on the Naas Road. From there the VW in Ireland story would continue to grow with an estimated 79,000 Beetles being sold until the demise of the Beetle in 1977.
As part of Beetle.ie, we invite people to submit photos of their VWs, past and present along with information such as the model, year, colour, engine size, chassis number and any stories you would like to tell. The more information we can gather, the more accurate and complete the Beetle.ie Census will be.
