It was always well-known that the automobile magnate Henry Ford’s father William was born and reared in Crohane, near the village of Ballinascarthy in Co Cork. But the association was never really marked in the area until the year 2000, when a local committee invited Kevin Holland to create a commemorative sculpture for a site in the village. The committee accepted his proposal for Ballinascarthy - a life-sized sculpture of the Model T, the vehicle that first brought Ford fame and fortune - and began fundraising for the project. Picture: Denis MinihaneWilliam Ford was 21 when he left for America at the height of the Famine, in 1847. One great-grandson, Edsel Ford, visited in 2004, and another, William Clay Ford, followed in 2011.

Source: Irish Examiner September 13, 2021 08:26 UTC