Tractor Run

Mrs Mary Daly (front row, centre) with Ann Demspey on her left and Bridie Lawlor on her right, presents €22,200 to staff of the Breast Care Department

On Sunday August 16th 2009, 78 tractors and 46 Honda 50 bikes, as well as an assortment of motorbikes and vintage cars, descended on Derrinturn, Co Kildare as part of a tractor run event to benefit Breast Care at St. James’s Hospital. The tractor run was organised by Mrs Mary Daly of Drummond, Carbury, Co Kildare, who raised a staggering €22,200. The tractor run started and finished at the Turn Inn and took participants – who ranged in age from 11 to 78 – on a 35 kilometre tour of the county.

Mary, a former patient of the Breast Care Service at St. James’s, decided to organise the tractor run as a way of saying thanks for care received. Mary said “I had never organised anything like this before but it was my way of saying thank you to the wonderful staff that took care of me. We started out by collecting money from 20 houses a night and by the end with Matt’s help we were on 60 houses a night. It was lovely meeting so many new faces but unfortunate to hear so many personal stories of the illness. We were overwhelmed with the generosity we met along the way. The tractor run was such good fun and I can’t wait to start planning the next one!”

Funds were raised through entry fees and through sponsorship collected by participants. In addition to this, five weeks prior to the event Mary began going door to door collecting donations. Mary was joined in this effort by her good friends Bridie Lawlor and Ann Dempsey, and by her husband Matt. Mary also organised two socials on the weekend of the event. On Saturday, August 15th, friends, family and supporters attended their local GAA club to enjoy the musical talents of the Midnight Blues, who generously donated their services for the evening. A second celebration took part on the evening of the tractor run at the Turn Inn, where Mary held a raffle to raise further funds for St. James’s.

St. James’s Hospital Foundation is most grateful to Mary, her husband Matt, and to Mary’s friends and family who worked tirelessly for many months to make the tractor run such a great success.

Contact Us

St. James’s Hospital Foundation
St. James’s Hospital
James’s Street
Dublin 8

Telephone 01 428 4086
Email foundation@stjames.ie