He’s sure to a-tractor attention on the way to Mizen!

A teacher from Galway is driving the entire length of Ireland in an open-top vintage tractor. His finish line? Mizen Head in county Cork.

Pat Murphy, a teacher and father of four from Corofin, Galway, is braving the elements in his 1962 David Brown 850, which can only reach a maximum speed of 24kph.

He began his trek on Thursday 1 August at Malin Head. His route will be the Wild Atlantic Way finishing at Mizen Head in Cork. His aim is to drive eight hours each day.

The drive from should only take eight hours in a modern vehicle on a more direct route, but Pat expects his tractor will do it 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,” said Pat, who teaches woodwork at Wesley College Dublin and lives in Sallins, Kildare with his family.

“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.

“I will also be wearing a lot of factor 50 and a sombrero hat to protect me from the sun,” added Pat.

He began his trek south on Thursday accompanied by his friend Tony Harrison from Ballina in Mayo who will be driving a camper van where he will sleep each night.

All proceeds will go to the humanitarian aid organisation Concern Worldwide and its Gaza appeal.

“I really value the work that Concern does, especially after working for them in refugee camps after the Rwanda genocide,” said Pat.

Pat hopes to raise at least €5,000 on his GoFundMe page called ‘Malin to Mizen – Charity Tractor Run for Concern’ and has already raised over €3,000.