Some stunning vehicles in lovely surroundings – including an Irish F1 legend

09:41, 25 May 2026Updated 09:53, 25 May 2026

Edward Walsh, CRITICAL Head of Operations & Standards​; Michele Hillenbrand, CRITICAL Community Fundraising Officer​ and Donie Lucey, CRITICAL Community Fundraising Support Officer​ pictured at the launch of the inaugural CRITICAL Car Show at Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens​.(Image: Alison Miles / OSM PHOTO)

One of the biggest car shows staged in Munster in recent years is set to bring some incredible vehicles to the lovely surroundings of Fota House and Gardens next month.

It will surely be a memorable day out for kids, for car enthusiasts and for everybody who appreciates motoring history and heritage (or just some seriously cool motors). The emergency medical response charity CRITICAL – and you can read all about this great Cork organisation here – will stage their first ever annual car show at Fota on June 28th.

It will be free in, but attendees are asked to make a donation to the charity, and they are still looking for the owners of interesting vehicles to get involved and you can register for that here. As well as classic cars, there will be high-powered Porsches, Ferraris and motorsports legends.

The star of the show will be the late Eddie Jordan’s historic 2001 Formula One car. Škoda Ireland has also joined as main sponsor for the event which will feature supercars, vintage and classic cars as well as emergency response vehicles and demonstrations alongside family entertainment and food vendors.

Visitors will have an opportunity to meet with local Gardai, members of the Fire Service, emergency responders and CRITICAL volunteers working on the frontline in communities across Ireland every day.

CRITICAL charity has a network of more than 300 responders active across Ireland who are alerted to life-threatening emergencies by the National Ambulance Service. CRITICAL’s volunteers include doctors and consultants equipped with emergency response vehicles and high-tech equipment; Community First Responder (CFR) groups; as well off-duty paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

The CRITICAL crew will be in the grounds of Fota House with some gorgeous cars and impressive emergency vehicles

The charity has been in operation since 2009 and in 2019 launched the Irish Community Air Ambulance. The service proved so successful that it is now operated by the HSE. Since 2023, CRITICAL has strengthened its ground-based teams and is now operating in 21 counties.

In 2024 and 2025 alone, CRITICAL volunteers responded to 3,330 serious and life-threatening emergencies.

Edward Walsh, CRITICAL Head of Operations & Standards said, “Having Škoda Ireland as event sponsor is really important to us. Our volunteers are often first at the scene of an emergency and they don’t arrive in ambulances, they arrive in cars. We are incredibly grateful to Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens who are generously providing the venue for our inaugural car show. \

“This event is about bringing the reality of emergency response into the public space in a way people can see, experience and connect with. Every single day across Ireland, CRITICAL responders are helping people during the worst moments of their lives. The support we receive from communities, businesses and the public is what allows us to continue doing that work. The CRITICAL Car Show is about awareness, community and ultimately saving lives.”