The Plough, the Plough. Wherefore art thou…

The Progress

The immense amount of goodwill we have received since Michael announced he wanted to restore his grandfather’s tractors has been very touching. Really it has been lovely hearing people recall their memories of Charlie, of the win, the celebrations and even of the ‘little green tractor’s put-putting around Glencree valley’. Arising from the unexpected media coverage, which has helped enormously to highlight to the general public and the wider farming community what an insurmountable task Michael has set himself, we have now received several offers of sponsorship, which we are hugely grateful for. Michael hopes that some or all of the tractor restoration would be completed by a vintage restoration expert and with sponsorship secured these hopes can now be facilitated. While he would dearly love to do the whole project himself he realises, that he only has two hands and it would be physically impossible given the short timeframe and that his farm work from now until September will be busy, busy with spare time being little or none.

The Plough

Lots of progress has been made with the ‘Tractor Project’ in terms of sourcing parts, talking to vintage experts and he even has found and bought a set of tyres for the D40L. Yet, sometimes it feels like no progress has been made and the clock is galloping along at ninety miles an hour! Since my last blog lambing is now nearly completed with just a few ewes dragging their heels, no rest for the wicked though and Michael is now discussing ‘taking up’ his silage ground. So really with the constant flow of pressing and urgent farm work there has been no time for any physical restoration of the D40L or D15 tractors, however with the D40L tractor on the road to being restored Michael has turned his attention to finding the plough in earnest.

The exact plough Charlie used to qualify for the World championships!

In all the plough matches that Charlie competed in to qualify for the World Ploughing he used a ‘Pierce Plough’ and Michael, to his delight, has been able to locate the exact original Pierce plough that Charlie used in all the qualifying matches. He knows that it is the correct plough because Charlie, being Charlie, made some alterations to it so it would suit his needs exactly. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree in respect to Michael, as he has altered every machine he owns to his ‘exact needs’ for as long as I have known him!!

The extra piece Charlie welded to the Pierce Plough board.

Getting back to the Pierce plough though, Charlie actually welded an extra piece to the boards so they would suit his own specific requirements and the weld mark is still there today!

The Appeal

While the Pierce plough is in fierce rusty condition, it can be (easily?!) restored to its former glory, but the elusive Kverneland Hydrein 2 furrow match plough is another story! That cheeky plough is like a lost jigsaw puzzle piece, hiding somewhere at the back of a shed, or half fallen into a ditch only waiting to be found and given the chance to make the picture complete. The picture below is from a Kverneland advert that Charlie featured in and is the exact plough we are looking for with the SQUARE beam (not a round beam like the later model).

Kverneland Hydrein Special                                                    2 Furrow Match Plough

Michael even had the opportunity to talk on the Today FM Ray Darcy Show to appeal to Ray’s listeners to help in the search for the plough. Please have a listen as Michael describes the plough in detail. Thank you so much to Ray and Jenny for their help!

So once again it is a Kverneland Hydrein Special 2 Furrow Match Plough we are searching for so please, please, please have a quick look at your old plough and see if it’s our missing jigsaw piece!! You can see a video on Youtube of the plough being used in Norway by clicking here and here.

The Tractor Project Update.

It is coming up to lambing time here on the farm and Michael has been quite busy making sure everything is ready for the expectant mothers in the sheep shed. Even if he has taken on this massive project of restoring his grandfather’s two tractors and endeavouring to find the exact plough Charlie used, everyday life and farm work continues!

The D40L Tractor Feb 2014

Since I put up the first post there has been quite a bit of interest in the whole story. Lots of people wished us luck and some people offered sponsorship and other forms of assistance, which we are most grateful for. The media also seem to like the story and there was a lovely feature on Michael with the tractor capturing the whole story on tonight’s RTE Six One News by Philip Bromwell.

There will be a blog post about it on the Irish Country Living website from Wednesday the 12th of March, where you will also find monthly updates of how the whole project is progressing.

About 2 weeks ago he made the time to drain the D40L tractor engine of the old fuel that has been there for quite some time, clean the filters, and put the old ones back in because he has no new filters. Pop in a bit of juice (diesel!) and turn the key! And he heard…. nawda, not a thing, nothing. So our friend and neighbour Mick Hogan came round the tractor was pulled up the yard and way-hey, it started! This was the first time it had been started in maybe ten years. It was actually filmed by Cyril Byrne of the Irish Times and was featured in the paper in an article written by Alison Healy. You can watch the film and read it here. Michael was like a little boy, the engine seemed in good order although it’s making a ‘funny noise’ which warrants further investigation. A full set of new filters have been ordered and we are searching for new tyres. The tyres that are on the tractor are Dunlop Fieldmaster but unfortunately Goodyear Dunlop doesn’t seem to make tractor tyres anymore.

The hunt has begun in earnest for the Kverneland Hydrein Special 2 furrow match plough, so if you have an old plough knocking around can you look a little closer before you scrap it. It could be the one!!

For my part I am making encouraging noises and trying keep Michael’s (and my) feet a little bit closer to the floor. Finger’s crossed that lady luck will stay with us!

The Story… The Tractor… The Project…

The Story…

Lots of you will know and many of you won’t but Michael Keegan is the grandson of Charlie Keegan, the 1964 World Ploughing Champion. By all accounts Charlie was a very nice person, described as ‘a perfectionist, almost Germanic in his ways’  he believed in ‘a place for everything and everything has its place’. I’m sure this sort of precision went along way to to honing his natural ploughing ability and why he had the neatest farm you could imagine. Michael also carries that neatness gene, my messy ways land me in trouble, a lot! Charlie was born on the 21st of March in 1926 , to Norman and Lydia Keegan. He farmed all his life and was ploughing with horses before farm machinery came on the scene after the World War II. He was a quietly talented man and his World Title win was a massive achievement at the time.

Charlie’s D15

When Charlie returned home from Vienna in 1964 he was carried off the plane with the Golden Plough in arms, shoulder high by a huge crowd, pictures can be found here at the Irish Photo Archives website.  It goes without saying that all his family were and are hugely proud of Charlie’s achievements. It was the first time the Golden Plough came to Ireland and I believe it was the first time an Irish man brought a World Title home to Irish soil. Agriculture was the main industry in Ireland at that time and Charlie became a national celebrity overnight. His winning prize was a Deutz D15 tractor, pictured above, which is still here in the yard.

The Tractor…

This year, 2014, is the 50th Anniversary of Charlie’s win in the World Championships. While I was the curator on the Tweeting Farmers account I was tweeting about Charlie and his achievements and it was suggested that it would be a wonderful idea to restore the prize tractor, the D15, and exhibit it at the National Ploughing this September. The D15 is in working order and is used for odds jobs around the farm. It’s a little rusty and does need a tidy up, but Michael has kept it in good nick over the years. The tractor that Charlie actually ploughed with was a D40L and he sold it in the 1980′s and he actually had several tractors of that same model over the years. The plough he used was a ‘Kverneland Hydrein Special’, a 2 furrow match plough and it was scrapped it years ago.

The Project…

Sadly Charlie’s two children, Stewart and Alan, predeceased him. Michael always had a great relationship with all his grandparents and, when his father Alan died in 1999, Charlie became Michael’s mentor and he guided and helped Michael on the farm in anyway he could until his death in 2003. Well Michael is very like Charlie, a total perfectionist with the attitude ‘if you’re going to a job you might as well do it right’ and as such the hunt was on for Charlie’s D40L tractor. This was the tractor, the one Charlie actually ploughed on to win the Championship. It would make the picture complete. The trouble was, Charlie had several models of this tractor over the years and they all had to be tracked down to find THE ONE! Eventually it was found, and not too far away as the crow flies, but the man that owned it was fond of it and not very keen to part with it. Michael was very distraught and did explain the sentimental value and offered to buy, replace, trade for the tractor. Michael begged him for the tractor and prevailed upon him explaining the importance and sentimental value the tractor held for him, but to no avail.

Charlie’s D40L

Until one day in late January Michael called in to the man on spec, one last time, just in case, and lo and behold he decided to part with it! Michael was elated and quickly met the man’s terms and closed the deal before anybody changed their minds. Michael is now walking ten feet taller and I am trotting along beside him trying to keep up with his giant wave of enthusiasm for life!! It means so much to him to be able to restore the two tractors, honour his grandfather’s memory and mark the 50 year Anniversary in such a fitting manner.

So both these tractors, to me, look like rust buckets! Not that I would have a clue. The D15 doesn’t look too bad, but the D40L…. Oh dear.

This is not an exhaustive list but, it needs;

New tyres. A new clutch. To be re-wired.

New mud guards.

A new steering box (whatever that means!!).

And The Story Continues…

Christmas Market Info

We are so excited about this year’s Christmas Market! It is bigger and better than ever and we are delighted to be having Sheep-herding demonstrations! Don’t worry about what ever the weather will be because it is mainly indoors in our Market Barn. Santa Claus will be there from 11am to 2pm and the Christmas Market runs all day from 10am to 4pm. Please see below for more information.

Christmas Market 2013!!!

Here at Waterfall Farm we love Christmas!!! In fact we get so excited about it the planning starts in January. Having our family all gathered around us for a big Christmas dinner is so important to us as I am sure it is to you too. The special Christmas crockery, napkins, plates, dishes all get dusted down to make a triumphant appearance for Christmas dinner. And what’s the most important thing for Christmas dinner???

Turkey

Well some say it is the Turkey! Here in Waterfall Farm Shop we take orders for locally grown free range turkeys. So if the Turkey’s your most important thing this Christmas be sure to call in store before they are all gobble, gobble, gone!! These are all hen turkeys and have almost NO FOOD MILES!!

Ham

Some people prefer ham on Christmas Day and we also take orders for Christmas ham’s in the Shop. These come to you direct from Hick’s Pork butcher’s and you can also order all the added extras like cocktail sausages or sausage meat and so on. Just drop in and fill out a form with your requirements.

Cakes, Puddings and Presents!!

Everyone knows that Santa Claus only brings presents to good boys and girls, however if you are looking for that unique and perfect Christmas gift be sure to visit our Christmas Market on Saturday the 14th of December, where there will also be home-made Christmas food for your table!

Christmas Market 14th December

Our Christmas Market is packed full of fun this year! Santa Claus has given his word that he will be in the Pet’s Corner from 11am to 2pm on Saturday the 14th of December.

We will have loads of food stalls with home-made Christmas cakes, puddings and other delicious goodies. There will also be craft stalls to find the perfect, hand crafted gift for your special loved one. A stall of fun children’s games, all the proceeds of which will be donated to the three local primary schools in Enniskerry. All the farm animals will be on their best behaviour begging for treats and pet’s from all the children.

We will have beautiful, locally grown Christmas Trees on sale on the farm from the start of December and are available at the Christmas Market too.

The Christmas Market starts at 10am and finishes at 4pm.

Entry is free.

Parking is free.

Good cheer is free.

We look forward to seeing you!!!!