Paul Rouse: 'Start your engines' - When Ireland was a motorsport mecca 

Jordan team boss Eddie Jordan celebrates with Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher after their first and second place finished in the 1998 Belgian Formula One Grand Prix. Picture: INPHO/Allsport

The thrilling conclusion of the current Formula One season is a reminder of those days when the Irish were prominent — even central — to the sport.

The Irish affinity with Formula One racing was most recently manifest in the lives of Eddie Jordan, Eddie Irvine, Derek Daly, and Rosemary Smith.