The vintage club is one of the Irish Vintage Society clubs restoring the tractor as part of the AXA Vintage Series Ferguson 20 restoration competition.

A key member of the Clonroche team is Marty Grennan, who is in possession of the 'Little Grey Fergie'.

Grennan explained: "We were at a vintage club meeting one night and we got word of it that the Ferguson 20 restoration competition was on, so we discussed it.

Grennan said when discussing it in the meeting, the vintage club members got those present to "put their hands up" if they'd interest in the project, and the majority agreed.

"This project kind of goes to show that anyone could have done it.

"We said we'd go ahead ourselves and that's basically how it started," he said.

Restoration process

According to Grennan, the vintage club "didn't have to go too far for parts.

"We got them all local enough, all in Wexford," he said.

"The tractor was fairly complete, we had all the original stay bars and nine-hole bar (drawbar)."

Grennan mentioned that he also had spare parts at his disposal, meaning the vintage club could focus on restoring the parts instead of sourcing them.

He added that fellow club member Fergus O'Leary was also able to "get bits and pieces that were hard to find".

Fergus O'Leary chimed in that "everything has been fully rebuilt".

Grennan said that the club's aim was to restore the Ferguson 20 "as originally as possible".

When asked about the most difficult part of the process, Grennan laughed, saying "all of it".

Fergus O'Leary joked that "a new bank account" was the toughest piece, but admitted that the engine had been "hard going".

"It helps to know what you're doing to do it," he said.

Grennan added that Jack O'Leary doing the painting was "a great help" due to the amount of time it took.

"Jack is after putting a lot of hours into that; he's done so much there with different pieces," he said.

Another member of the club, Kiall Byrne mentioned that Jack is "purely self-taught through trial and error", demonstrating the great initiative from members within the club.

According to Grennan, the hours put into the project added up gradually as vintage club members found spare time to work on it.

O'Leary added that it could be "three or four hours in one night, maybe a couple of nights a week.

"Everyone's busy so you don't see everyone, but people rock in where they can and help out."

According to the vintage club members, they're "not far off the finish line, not too many hours left in it really".

Prize aspirations

The top prize of €5,000 would be "a great gift" to the club, according to O'Leary, which Grennan mentioned is "only basically up and running for the last couple of years".

"We're running on the bare budget, and with insurance, every event you run is €250 before you start," Grennan said.

O'Leary added that the club is lucky to have patrons that will sponsor events from time to time.

Meanwhile, Grennan highlighted that members of the Clonroche/Poulpeasty club also put in efforts to back other vintage clubs' events, with "definitely four or five from our club at every local tractor run".

"There'd always be someone showing face to support the other clubs," he said.

He added that the other local clubs are equally good to show face at Clonroche/Poulpeasty Vintage Club events.

According to O'Leary, a big thing they did that helped the growth of their vintage club was "going all vintage" for their tractor runs.

"If you want to go do something for someone who is sick or other community funding events, you can get the bigger machines involved and up-numbers," he said.

Grennan said that any prize winnings would go towards "more fundraising and charity work".

Bringing the club together

The Ferguson 20 restoration project was "great for the vintage club, having all the lads together in the shed".

Grennan said: "It was kind of a 'men's shed' for a few months, and the odd time we'd organise it, spend a few hours at it, then grab a few pints afterwards.

He noted that the restoration project was drawing interest from members of all ages.

While vintage clubs across Ireland have struggled to some degree to garner a younger base of members, according to Grennan, it's not something his vintage club is worried about.

He again highlighted the work being done by Jack O'Leary, the club's youngest member at 17.

"My own young lad is only 10-years-old, but he'd have a fierce interest in it now, between playing and in the middle of the way, shouting and roaring," Grennan laughed.

According to Jack's father, Fergus O'Leary, that's just "the next generation getting involved".

Meanwhile, the honorary club president Michael Ryan is the oldest member.

"Mikey is the oldest at 84, and he has his own tractor, he'll be kicking around there, he's the chairman.

He's stuck in aswell, he was up with us a few nights for this now too," Grennan said.

He added that it wasn't just a range of ages that made the club what it was, but the community aspect.

"Anyone the restoration suited showed up. We sent a message to the club members and we had a laugh and joke and stuff and got it done.

"When we were stripping it and fixing it, everyone did a little bit, it gets everyone together, young and old".

According to O'Leary, restoration competitions are a "good excuse to get going at projects".

Grennan added that the Ferguson 20 restoration competition was the "push we needed to do this".

"The Ferguson 20 was in the shed at home for many years, but this opportunity was great for lads to come up and spend a few hours in the evening socialising while working on the tractor."

Clonroche/Poulpeasty Vintage Club has wished all other clubs in the competition the best of luck on its Facebook page.

This series is brought to you by Agriland and sponsored by AXA Insurance.

The competition was organised by The Irish Vintage Society Clg. and will be judged at its All Ireland National Vintage Rally 2026.