Fingal Vintage Society staged a memorable Ford heritage event last Friday night at the City North Hotel, Gormanston, Co Meath, when it performed a reenactment of the launch of the 1000 Series or 6X range of Ford tractors in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the tractor’s introduction. The tractors were originally introduced to Ireland in November 1964.

There were more than 300 people in attendance as Ford tractor enthusiasts from across the country came together in what Michael Hoey of Fingal Vintage Society summed up as a gathering.

He said that the evening was a coming together of like-minded people with a common interest. “This evening defined what we did, except that we could exchange the term of like-minded people, to one of nutcases,” he added to great applause.

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“Every boy among us envied these tractors when we saw them in the fields in the 1960s. We soon got to know them inside out. Tonight is a cherishing of the heritage that these tractors have brought about.

“We take for granted the 2mm accuracy of the engineering skills that brought them about. We reflect on the farming drudgery that our forefathers had to do and we see the leaps and bounds that tractor design has taken in the 50 years since the 1000 series tractors were launched,” he added.

The event included a series of interviews with some members of the orginal Ford tractor training and demonstation teams. Reg Wilksinson and Ian Wilson tested and demonstrated the tractors in the 1960s, while Mike Hutton provided driver and dealer training at Ford’s legendary training centre at Boreham House. John Baggley told of his experiences with the following 10 series tractors. Throughout the evening, Nick Batelle and his son Phil of the Old 20 Parts Company provided black and white Ford product promotional films from the period to create a perfect atmosphere. And there were impressive prizes awarded from a selection gathered by Martin Evrard, chairman of Fingal Vintage Society, and the team from Armstrong Machinery under Charles Hutcheson.

Calling Carlow vintage ploughmen

The Carlow Vintage Ploughing Association is staging its fifth annual county ploughing championships this Sunday 22 February on the farm of the Dawson family at Kilnock, Ballon, Co Carlow. Carlow is the only county in Ireland to have its own vintage ploughing association, which was formed in 2010.

Carlow also hosted the first ever six nations competition in 2011, when this event was held in Rathoe. This year, the six nations vintage ploughing championships will be held in Northern Ireland, while the event moves south of the border for 2016.

This weekend, the Carlow organisers are expecting between 30 and 40 competitors, including some from Northern Ireland. There will be four classes – trailer, hydraulic, single furrow, and horse ploughing – with a prize fund of €1,200 up for grabs.

Sheila Murray (087-2371695) of the organising committee said that the ploughing competitions will start at 11.30am sharp.

A month of model shows

There are four farm model shows planned over the coming weeks, so model collectors will have a feast of opportunity to get a look at the latest models for their collections or view some interesting diorama displays of farm and construction site displays.

The Carrickdale Model Show will be staged at Ravensdale, Co Louth, on Sunday 22 February, while the following week, the AM Model Show will be held in Cookstown, Co Tyrone, on Friday 27 February. One week later, on Sunday 1 March, the Midland Model and Toy Show takes place under the care of Trevor Richardson, while the Sligo Diecast and Model Show takes place on Sunday 8 March.