A teacher and father of four from Corofin in Co Galway is driving the length of the western seaboard along the 2,800km Wild Atlantic Way in a slow-moving, open-top vintage tractor to raise funds for Concern Worldwide’s Gaza appeal. Pat Murphy is making the trip in his 1962 David Brown 850, which has a maximum speed of 24kph. The drive direct from Malin Head in Donegal to Mizen Head in Cork would normally take eight hours in a modern vehicle.
Murphy expects to finish his tractor trek in about two weeks.
“The tractor can probably do a maximum speed of 24kph so it will be a long journey, but for a very worthy cause,” Murphy, who teaches woodwork at Wesley College Dublin and lives with his family in Sallins, Co Kildare. “It is a 62 year-old David Brown that has been fully restored. It has no power steering or cabin, just fresh air. If it rains, I’ll be just going through it. There’s no suspension either, so I’ll have an extra cushion on the seat.
Breaks
“I will also be wearing a lot of factor 50 and a sombrero hat to protect me from the sun, and it can actually get very cool in an open top tractor so I have a heavy coat with me too.” Murphy began his trip on Thursday (August 1) at 2pm at Malin Head. He is accompanied by his friend Tony Harrison from Ballina in Mayo in his overnight camper van. Murphy will drive his tractor for eight hours a day, taking 15 minute breaks every two hours.
Murphy chose Concern’s Gaza appeal as he was involved with the charity as a volunteer in Rwanda in 1995 and 1996 after the brutal genocide that occurred there. “I really value the work that Concern does, especially after working for them in refugee camps after the Rwanda genocide,” he said. “The people of Gaza really need our help today. Anybody who has been the pictures on television knows that the people there deserve our support.”
Murphy’s GoFundMe page is at https://gofund.me/f7046b8d
He hopes to raise over €5,000 to help the Palestinians in the Gaza strip.
