Back to school—a look at the SS Class school bus

SS451 is seen outside the iconic Broadstone terminus, which is today the headquarters of Bus Éireann. Photo: John Curran.

Cliche it may be, but it is entirely fair to say that Ireland has come a long way over the last 60 years. Over a century of post-famine emigration had taken its toll on the Nation, as were the aftereffects of Partition, The Emergency, global recession, and the long shadow of Archbishop John McQuaid. Ireland was, to paraphrase Juno’s Captain Boyle, very much in a state of Chassis. It would take a brave man to do something about it; enter Donagh O’Malley.

Then Minister for Education, O’Malley, was well aware that less than a third of Irish children got a second-level education. Convinced that this was holding the country and its people back, in 1967, he caught the country off guard when he announced an unprecedented plan to introduce Free Secondary Education to Ireland’s schools. And while the naysayers immediately decried the scheme as being unfair to those living in rural areas, Donagh had a trump card: free transport for all children.

CIÉ was given the unenviable task of finding and running the buses to move hundreds of thousands of children daily from every corner of the land, and quickly began assembling a makeshift fleet of retired and disused coaches; some from their own fleet and others sourced from the UK. However, it quickly transpired that a larger, dedicated, more reliable fleet would be required to take on the task, and quickly, too. When all seemed lost, CIE’s (Limerick) Bacon was saved once again by GM.

Bedford Vehicles, a subsidiary of General Motors, was a long-time rival to Leyland and AEC, the two dominant suppliers of buses to Ireland over the years. Their access to lucrative CIÉ fleet contracts and the export market had been limited, so when a large contract came their way, they were quick to respond by way of two models of bus, the VA5 and the slightly longer SB.

A demonstration underframe was quickly purchased from Bedford and an in-house designed body added to it at CIÉ’s bus building plant, Spa Road, in November 1967 (This isn’t why it looks eerily like a Leyland Leopard or Atlantean, honest!). Designated SS1, the bus was painted in a distinctive yellow and white livery. From there, a further 769 kits were ordered and sent to private bus builders for assembly; three Dundalk firms, Duffy, Mcardle, and Murphy’s, getting the lion's share of the work, with the last example (SS800) eventually entering traffic in 1979.

In traffic, the SS class undertook the majority of school transport in Ireland for over 25 years, with some examples of the class even lasting in service until 2000; almost 40 years of service. Loved by mechanics for their rugged simplicity and easy can-do repair nature, this lent to their extraordinary longevity in service, while their simplicity of operation meant that they could be driven by anybody anywhere with a minimum of training or running in.

Similarly, they were loved by passengers all over Ireland, not so much for their comfort levels but for the new hope and dreams that they brought to every corner of rural Ireland. The gift of education was made open to all, boy and girl, rich and poor; farmer or financier, townie or country resident; and it was availed of too.

Sadly, Deputy O’Malley never got to see the fruition of his plans; he died in March 1968. However, we can all be thankful for his contribution to Irish transport in unleashing what is undoubtedly an Icon of Irish Life and an integral part of the fabric of Ireland.

The restored SS1 is seen at a bus rally.

The prototype, SS1, can be seen today in the National Transport Museum at Howth, and is well worth a visit.

We would like to thank bus historian and preservationist Ed O’Neill for his assistance in producing our badge of this iconic old Irish school bus. Click here to get yours.