The McGuinness family bought their first International Harvester tractor in 1953 when their late father, Paddy, bought a DGD4 tractor from the then local dealer, Paddy Taaffe in Ardee.

He took delivery of the tractor with a deposit of £350 on 15 October 1953, and the family retains the detailed diary records to prove it.

When Pat McCartney set up Mid-Louth Garage in Ardee in 1974, the McGuinness family continued to stick with the International Harvester tractor brand. They followed that with many years of harvesting with the International Harvester Axial Flow combine harvesters.

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Heritage

Over the 60 years, the McGuinness family has bought more than 60 new tractors in the International and later Case IH brands, as well as 22 combine harvesters.

They currently run two Case IH Axial Flow combines and seven Case IH CVX 170 tractors, plus a number of smaller units. The Case IH heritage is very obvious on the farm.

Cormac and Pat McCartney, of local dealers Mid-Louth Garage, made a presentation to the McGuinness brothers, Jack, Pat and Tony, on the day, which included a gold painted tractor model and a special 60 years Case IH birthday cake with a photograph of the original International DGD4 tractor on top.

Case IH has invited the McGuinness brothers to visit the company’s European tractor factory in St Valentin, Austria, as a gesture of appreciation for their 60 years of support for the brand.