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When the Knockanore Melleray fundraising committee decided to hold a monster tractor run in aid of Emily Byrne, little did they imagine the huge turnout they would get on the day.
More than €24,000 was raised for the six-month-old girl from Waterford.
Emily was born in June 2017 with liver complications meaning she needs a transplant when one becomes available.
Treatment for this condition requires frequent travel to King's College Hospital in London and Our Lady’s Children's Hospital, Crumlin, in Dublin. The cost of these trips can run into the thousands of euros.
The tractor run was set up to support the Byrne family with some of the considerable expenses associated with these frequent trips.
Such was the number of tractors present, parking became an issue, but all participants squeezed into the grounds of Lismore Castle.
The grounds of Lismore castle, Co Waterford, were chosen as the starting point for tractor run.
Organisers began welcoming tractors into the grounds from early morning, with huge numbers coming from Waterford, Cork and Tipperary.
John Cashman brought this very recently imported John Deere 4755 to the tractor run.
A very clean dual-power Ford 5000 at the monster tractor run.
As the morning rolled on, the tractors kept rolling in, so much so that parking for the hundreds of new, classic and vintage tractors became an issue. Nonetheless, the organisers were well prepared and all tractors squeezed into the grounds.
Committee member Kevin Moloney told the Irish Farmers Journal: “We can’t believe the huge support we have received so far. We expected a big turnout but this far exceeds what we hoped for.
“The money raised will help the Byrne family with travel expenses and all the associated costs – even the special food that Emily has to eat all costs a lot of money.”
There was a huge selection of both modern and vintage tractors present on the day, including this very clean 4WD Roadless.
Probably the biggest tractor present on the day was this John Deere 8410 owned by John Morrison from Knockanore, Co Waterford.
A very clean Ford 8600 at the monster tractor run in Lismore.
The group will also host a fundraising walk on 6 January, starting at the KGK Hall, Knockanore, Co Waterford, at 12.30pm.
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