100 years on, how Henry Ford ignited his Cork dream

This year marks the centenary of car giant Ford launching an Irish operation. In the start of a weekly series, we analyse how its factory in Cork came about, and the effect it had on the city, writes Thomas Grimes.

The people of Cork have long been thankful to Henry Ford, and the decision by the motoring mogul to open a factory in the land of his ancestors here a century ago.

But there are two more vital components that contributed to the decision to locate the factory on the Marina — the Great War and the British Prime Minister of the day, David Lloyd George.