Paddy Keogh’s passion for machinery was established from a young age, having grown up around tractors in his home town just outside Cavan. He bought his own tractor and lime spreader in 1979.

Paddy purchased a 165 Massey Ferguson from Dunne’s tractors in Belturbet Co. Cavan.

The 165 was married up with a 3t Atkinson trailed lime spreader, an impressive combination in its day he noted. As well as the Masseys being a popular tractor in that era, they were the only tractors that suited Paddy’s work, as they were equipped with a ground speed PTO.

Although unused by many Massey Ferguson owners at the time, ground drive does essentially as the name suggests. Once engaged, the PTO turns at a speed proportional to the forward speed of the tractor. It’s used for ground drive implements such as manure spreaders and lime spreaders that had an axle driven by the PTO. This acted as a four-wheel drive, meaning the tractor was not left to entirely pull the spreader, as its PTO-driven axle propelled itself. This feature meant that larger loads could be pulled with the likes of the 41hp MF 165, thus making hills and ground conditions less of an issue.

Paddy Keogh, Drumcorrick Cavan has been spreading lime on hire for over 40 years.

Upgrades

Having worked for years with the 165, Paddy then upgraded it for the higher horse powered MF 188, which had an extra 34hp, totalling at 75hp. Throughout the 1980s, with incentives for farmers to spread lime, Paddy spread up to 19,000 t of lime, covering a 50-mile radius from his yard in Rathcorrick, Co Cavan, often finding himself as far south as Tullamore.

Paddy was now operating two spreaders, the other being pulled with an MF 185. The main differences between the 185 and 188 are the 6in gearbox spacer for increased stability, and the beefed up linkage/hydraulics of the 188 (and the rest of the full 8 range, including the 148 and 168). The lime was loaded on using a back-end loader and a neighbour’s MF 168 Multi-power. Multi-power models had the additional option of a hydraulic planetary gear set on the output side of the transmission. Once engaged, tractors could reach higher speeds of 20mph, acting somewhat like a two-speed transmission.

Maintenance

All tractor and spreader maintenance was carried out by Paddy himself, and he continues to do so today, having completely rebuilt the engines in his current MF 290 and MF 168. Everything is mechanical and easily worked on, Paddy explained.

Current outfit

In the late 1990s, lime spreading become less fashionable due to loss of government incentives, according to Paddy. As a result, he bought a truck, as he no longer had enough contract spreading work to make it a full-time job. Tractors were sold as they were no longer needed, and the annual tonnage spread dropped for a number of years.

A decade later lime started to be spread more commonly again. By then, Paddy had his MF 185 and a larger Atkinson ground drive spreader fitted with a Broughan Engineering body, capable of carrying up to six tonnes of lime. He began covering a much smaller radius around the Cavan area and spreading in the region of 7000-8000t depending on the year. Paddy explained that back when he started, ground conditions allowed spreading to be done all year round, mainly during the winter and spring periods. Now spreading is mainly carried out during the spring or summer months.

Up until five years ago Paddy was still spreading with a MF 185 but decided to change to the later 200 series MF 290, 1982 registered. This newer series at the time saw some subtle changes under the bonnet as well as a more modern livery, having a more modern cab than before. Paddy reconditioned the MF 290’s engine, leaving it running like a new machine, although it took some time to set up the ratios of the tractor and spreader as they turned out to be different to his older MF 185. He worked around this by fitting the crown pinion from an MF 185 into the MF 290 and gears from the 185’s gearbox to keep gear speeds the same.

The MF 168 he owns today was bought second-hand in full original condition. By chance, he happened to have driven the very same tractor when it was new model back in 1978 when working on on a client’s farm, making the connection after seeing the previous owners name on the tax book. The MF 168 still loads the 6t spreader with same back end loader which belonged to a local quarry after being manufactured in the early 1980’s.

Years on

In 2019 it is a rare sight to come across two original examples of some of the best and most highly sought after models ever produced by Massey Ferguson. At 41 years old, these tractors are used daily and are still fitted with their original body parts, Paddy says, apart from the wings on the MF 168 which he recently replaced. Everything else remains as it did leaving the factory all those years ago.

Maintenance costs

Asked why he never changed his spreader tractor to a more modern four-wheel drive, Paddy said that “finding a tractor fitted with a ground speed PTO is hard come by and then to get matching ratios to suit the spreader would mean an even bigger challenge”. This is a man who knows the older tractors inside and out. Owning only 100 and 200 series Masseys’ all his life has left him with an incredible knowledge of their tractor models, along with little to no maintenance costs and few diesel bills. “I’m getting as much done as several others, burning a fraction of the diesel while my tractors only appreciate in value,” he said.