Narraghmore Santa Vintage Run 2009
- Details
- Published: Monday, 28 December 2009 00:00
- Written by Narraghmore Vintage Club
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The beneficiaries this year will again be St. Vincents Hospital Patient Comfort Fund, which does such wonderful work for the elderly and disabled in County Kildare and some proceeds will go towards the cost of the Old Folks Christmas Party held annually in Narraghmore.
The weather was very cold but the atmosphere was brilliant as the drone of vintage cars, tractors, and trucks rang out in what was a cold but crystal clear morning. All entrants donned Santa suits and Hats and there was a sea of red and white, tinsel and glitter. All people taking part adorned their tractors, cars, steam engines or whatever they chose to drive, in the Christmas theme and dressed as Santas or wore Santa hats which were available to buy on the day. Tommy Cassidy’s Robin Reliant was a tight squeeze for budding Santa’s but plenty tried. Some made their Massey look Classy while others made their David Brown look more like a circus clown. Peoplelet their imagination go wild. The bright weather allowed people to gather, and with teas, coffees and soups going free, everyone was very warm spirited, so much so the donations by the public were as charitable as one could ever expect.
We departed Narraghmore at 11.30am on 2 runs, one for the tractors and slower vehicles and one for the vintage and classic cars. The tractors followed a route through Old Grange, Ballindrum, Moatfield, Inch, Russellstown Cross, Geraldine Cross, Sawyers Wood, Milltown Bridge and stopping off at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Athy. The cars went via Crookstown, Castledermot, Carlow, Arles, Newtown, Ballylinan and on to Athy. The patients of St Vincents got a treat when tractors filled up the car park and the drivers got a great buzz from this too. Some of the patients, who are parents and love ones of some of the drivers, got a very special treat. The bringing together of the generations is something very special in events such as this one.
All vehicles met up in Athy in Emily Square. The people of Athy gave generously in support of the huge array of vehicles, from Rolls Royces to Vintage Trucks which were on display. We all departed Athy at 2.00pm heading back to Narraghmore, catching the last few rays of sunshine. All entrants and supporters warmed up with complimentary soups and an old vintage favourite, Colcannon and Ham. The team of caterers really raised the bar with superb food for all involved. Certainly the diners looked happy as they tucked in.
A huge thanks to all the ladies and gentlemen who gave their time, either through stewarding, safety, directions or the buttering and slicing of all the foods and sandwiches. With tractors safely back in their sheds, the centre of attention became O’Looney’s Bar which entertained the crowds until closing time. The punters got a great treat from some tractor fans who sang songs along with the bands. Local bands entertained all and everyone had a great and safe night of fun. A DVD of the day was on show with photos and video from the ground and from the Helicopter kindly offered to the photographers by the Roches of Vista Healthcare Naas and piloted by Eoin Roche, Kilmeade.
A selection of tractor models on the run were as follows. Massey 35, 135,165, 178; International 484;Ferguson Grey; John Deere 2850,4050; Leyland 802; David Brown 900,950,770,880,1200,1210; Nutfield; CASE 1594; Ursus 3512; Landini; Zetor; Dextra; Ford 2600, 3000, TW 25, TM 135,7810,7740,4000,4610,7700,8160; JCB; Fendt
The prises on the day where John O’Brien , Glashealy ,Best Tractor; John Duffy Best Car Morris Minor; Tommy Cassidy Caverstown Best Motorbike.
Pictures of the day are available on our website www.narraghmorevintageclub.com or on facebook as Narraghmore Vintage Club.
| Click Here to see all our photos from the day. |
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