Thomond - Jones

Jones

Could the Thomond project have gone further?

Jones, Parsons and Humphreys were the movers behind a very interesting motoring experiment. They built some quality cars, and one wonders could they have gone into production, had they been more high-profile about it.

They were very low key. They did not advertise it. No ad for the Thomond has ever been discovered. They never had a profile in The Motor News, the contemporary Irish motoring paper which picked up every other scrap of information. The Motor News listed the Thomond in competition in 1925 and 1926, but oddly showed no interest in what this car was. As far as we know, they never covered the Thomond or interviewed Jones.

• Tommy O'Brien said Dick was very modest: He wouldn't pretend he'd done anything.
• Dick in his 1963 article said it was a pity the public did not give Jones and Parsons more support. But it seems more likely that the public never knew about the car.
• Jim Barr talked as if Jones was interested in going into production at one point. He said that the regular dealers were slightly wary of the project, as at least one of the cars showed itself to be unreliable in the long run. (This may be no.4.) The faults he cited include loose doors, and a tendency for the engine to burn oil.
• [Autocar, 1925] is ambiguous as to whether Jones was considering going into production: 'First Irish Free State Car'.

James A. Jones.
From larger photo with his brother John Jones (standing).
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Norah Wade (1st wife of James A. Jones).
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"Thomond Cottage", Garoon, Mountmellick, Co.Laois.
Where James A. Jones lived 1955-57 with his 2nd wife Mary McBride.
Photo 1984.
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"Thomond Cottage".
Photo 1984.
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• Redemptorists church in Limerick.