Club history · Since 1999
The ISDC story
A small group of enthusiasts, a shared love of Subarus, and more than 25 years of drives, meets and help from one owner to the next. This is a short history of the Irish Subaru Drivers Club and the members who made it.
At a glance
1999
Founded by a small group of Subaru enthusiasts as a non-profit club.
2000
The online forum opens, and the club gains a home that never closes.
Run by members
Always led by a volunteer committee drawn from the membership.
Where it started
The Irish Subaru Drivers Club began in 1999, when a small group of Subaru enthusiasts decided to set up a club of their own. It was non-profit from day one: the point was never to make money, but to bring owners together.
It was a good time to be a Subaru fan, with the Impreza winning on world rally stages. Owners wanted somewhere to swap advice, find parts and meet people who understood why they had bought one.
The forum: a home that never closes
In 2000 the club’s online forum followed. It quickly became the heart of the ISDC: the place where members shared what they had learned about owning a Subaru, helped each other with technical problems, and organised everything from a Sunday drive to a weekend away.
That knowledge has built up year after year. A question about an EJ20, a rusty arch or an import’s paperwork has very likely been answered on the forum by someone who has been there before.
A club run by its members
The ISDC has always been run by a volunteer committee. The club’s older welcome page describes a committee elected from the membership, which keeps members involved in how the club operates and where it goes next.
Nobody is paid. Every run, meet, show stand and members’ pack exists because someone on the committee, or a member who offered to help, gave up their own time to make it happen.
Club life
Over the years, ISDC members have got together for:
- Local meets, from car parks to cars and coffee
- Scenic drives on some of the best roads in the country
- Track days at Mondello Park
- Rolling-road days
- Charity drives
- Family barbecues
- Karting
Through all of it, two things have stayed the same: sharing what you know, and meeting other people who love their Subarus as much as you do.
2014: fifteen years, and a world champion’s car
For the club’s 15th anniversary in 2014, the ISDC had a special guest on its stand at the Irish Classic & Vintage Motor Show in Terenure. The club website records that Colin McRae’s Subaru Impreza rally car was brought over from Prodrive for the ISDC display.
Having a world champion’s blue and yellow Impreza on an Irish club stand, surrounded by members’ own cars, was a fitting way to mark fifteen years. It is the car in the photo on our Guides image.
2019: twenty years
In 2019 the club reached 20 years. Its website pages from the time carried the anniversary wording “1999–2019”: two decades of a club built and kept going by its members.
The ISDC today
More than 25 years on, the club is still doing what it set out to do. Members organise meets, drives, shows and motorsport trips, and the forum still supports the community and shares ownership experience every day.
Today’s calendar runs from cars and coffee mornings and scenic runs to show stands, overnight tours, motorsport trips and karting. See what’s on, or read the owner guides built from members’ experience.
Help us write the rest
This is a brief history, not a complete archive. There is a lot more to tell: the founding members, the first meets, the cars, the trips and the characters who have kept the club going.
If you have been around since the early days, or you have photos, stories or old club material, we would love to hear from you. Post in the forum or contact the committee, and help us fill in the gaps.
Be part of the next chapter
Full membership is €50 for 12 months and includes members-only events, club subsidies on selected events and a members’ pack in the post.