THE sale of raffle tickets for a fully restored David Brown 990 tractor has exceeded expectations and significantly boosted the Kilmacabea GAA Club’s fundraising drive for a new astro turf.
The tractor was literally found in a ditch by Diarmuid French who, together with a team of volunteers, restored the vehicle over two 12-hour shifts during an August Bank Holiday festival in the village.
Tickets sold like proverbial hotcakes during the festival, as well as at country markets in Skibbereen and Macroom, where rural shoppers fell for the transformed tractor and handed over a tenner for a ticket. Tickets were sold all over the country, and even in the UK.
On Friday night, Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O’Sullivan drew the winning ticket. It was purchased online by Padraig Breen for his dad, Tommy, a West Limerick farmer who has in fact an old David Brown wreck himself!
This week, the tractor is being registered with an LK registration, and there are plans to deliver it to a delighted Tommy Breen next week.
A spokesperson for the GAA club told The Southern Star: ‘We never thought it would be such a huge fundraiser.
‘It grew arms and legs, but at the end of the day it wasn’t just about making money, this project brought the whole community together and a lot of friendships – among young people, the middle-aged and pensioners – were made in the process.’
Construction of the astro turf construction has been estimated in the region of €250,000.
