In 1963, Mullingar Photographer Seán Magee filmed an incident on Lough Owel, Mullingar where a few vehicles, which included a Volkswagen car a motorbike and a four-wheeled vehicle with sails. In The Spindle Tree, Pat Rearden witnesses a similar event on the lake in the story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJJBQreFjv8&t=170s
The Spindle Tree 