It’s that time of year again; the ‘Border Counties Vintage Grassmen‘ are gearing up for what is being billed as “one of the largest vintage and classic silage working days in Ireland”.
It will take place this Sunday, June 2, in the Ardee/Carrickmacross area. The exact location is just off the N2 – on the Ardee side of Dooleys Restaurant (Co. Louth).
Francie McBride, one of the organisers of the event, explained: “This promises to be our biggest show yet.
We have more machinery coming than ever before. We are welcoming all types of vintage and classic silage-cutting machinery to register beforehand and join us on the day.
To register or to simply make an enquiry, contact Francie at: 086-3635056; Dermot at: 086-8759612; or John at: 086-3650745.
Last year, there was a sizeable gathering for the group’s event in Inniskeen (Co. Monaghan). Like this year, the theme was very much focused on tractors and silage-making equipment.
This picture gallery (below) – courtesy of photographer Ray Mallon (RM Agriphotos) – depicts just some of the eye-catching sights from last year’s event.
Amidst the flurry of machines making their way to this year’s event, we’re hoping to see some old self-propelled New Holland foragers – right back to the likes of the 1895 (one of which is pictured below).
Image source: Ray Mallon (RM Agriphotos)
For New Holland fanatics here on the island of Ireland, that’s one of the machines (along with the older 1880) that kick-started the self-propelled forager story. However, New Holland actually built a self-propelled forager as far back as 1961 – in the shape of the SP818 (pictured below).
In that case, New Holland essentially converted an existing trailed (pull-type) forager into a self-propelled contraption.
Also Read: Where did New Holland self-propelled harvesters come from?The SP818 was the machine – for New Holland at least – that paved the way for a half-century of product development, culminating in today’s FR line-up. The pint-sized SP818 was designed and built in New Holland, Pennsylvania (US).