The West Cork Vintage Ploughing and Threshing Association’s Ford 100 Fest is set to take place on Sunday, August 27, on the ancestral home-farm of Henry Ford at Crohane, Ballinascarthy, Co. Cork.

The event, sponsored by Henry Ford and Son Ltd, will be a celebration of 100 years of Ford in Ireland.

The Ford 100 Fest will include a wide range of Ford models going back to the Model T, the first assembly-line manufactured car.

As well as the the Ford cars from the past 100 years, the event organisers expect to see “one of the largest displays of Fordson tractors ever assembled in Ireland” at the Fest.

Fordson tractors were the first vehicles to be manufactured at the Cork Ford plant on the Marina, which was established 100 years ago this year in 1917.

At the Fest, there will also be live demonstrations of ploughing, threshing, silage cutting, corn cutting and exhibits of farming from by-gone days, according to the organisers.

Other key attractions will be a helicopter on hand to provide “a bird’s eye view of the event” to visitors, as well as food stands which use local ingredients for their dishes.

All proceeds from the event will be donated to the charities chosen by the vintage association: Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin; Cancer Connect; the Alzheimer’s Unit of Clonakilty Hospital; and West Cork Rapid Response.

Ciaran McMahon, Chairman and Managing Director of Henry Ford and Son Ltd, spoke about the occasion, stating: “Where else could the Ford 100 Fest take place other than at the ancestral homestead from where Henry Ford’s father and his family emigrated to the US in 1847.

We are delighted to sponsor the West Cork Vintage Ploughing and Threshing Association’s Ford 100 Fest – it is really shaping up to be a great day out and all in aid of some very worthy charities.

Don Coakley, Chairman of the West Cork Vintage Ploughing and Threshing Association, also commented on the event. He said: “Our Ford 100 Fest will really be the highlight event of the summer in West Cork. We are indebted to Vivian Buttimer and the Ford Buttimer family for hosting the event on the Ford family farm.

“In this the centenary year of Ford in Ireland, we are also hugely grateful to the team at Henry Ford and Son Ltd for their generous support of the event,” Coakley added.