Teacher completes tractor trek

A teacher’s epic 15 day trek in an open-top vintage tractor along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way has reached its end in Cork.

Father of four, Pat Murphy, from Corofin, Galway raised almost €16,000 for people in Gaza as he braved the elements in his restored 1962 David Brown, which can only reach a maximum speed of 24kph.

His 2,800km drive from Malin Head in Donegal to Mizen Head in Cork caught the attention of thousands of local residents.

Pat hoped to raise at least €5,000 on his GoFundMe page called ‘Malin to Mizen Charity Tractor Run for Concern’ but it has so far raised more than €15,750 for the aid organisation Concern Worldwide and its Gaza appeal.

“I’m very grateful to everyone who donated and supported the tractor run. The whole experience was wonderful,” said Pat on arrival at Mizen Head.

“The weather was the biggest challenge. I experienced heavy rain, wind, thunder, and lightning so that wasn’t easy.

“I also had to be alert on the road because the roads are like spaghetti and the margins are cliff edges so there wasn’t much room for error.

“The best part of the tractor run was the beautiful scenery and meeting people along the route,” he added.

Pat chose Concern because of his past involvement with the charity as a volunteer in Rwanda in 1995 and 1996 after the genocide that occurred there.

“Having worked with Concern in Rwanda, it made me really appreciate how lucky we are here in Ireland. I experienced real poverty and the effects of war,” he said.

“Once I saw the horror in Gaza, I knew I wanted to help. It’s important that the people of Gaza know we care about them and that they are not alone,” added Pat.

Concern’s Chief Executive David Regan praised Pat Murphy for his incredible fundraising achievement.

“We applaud and thank Pat Murphy and his friends and family supporting him for his incredible fundraising success,” he said.

Pat was accompanied on his adventure by his friend Tony Harrison who drove a campervan for them to sleep in each night. Another friend, Brendan Joyce, transported Pat’s tractor from Corofin where he grew up to Malin Head and collected it when they reached Ireland’s most south-westerly point at Mizen Head.

To support Pat Murphy’s tractor fundraising trek for Gaza, visit his GoFundMe page gofund.me/2fbd8bd6.