Loughrea to Ballinasloe Tractor Pull raises over €10,000 to date for Galway Hospice

Many thanks to the organisers of the recent ‘Loughrea to Ballinasloe Charity Tractor Pull’ which took place on Sunday 1^st September in aid of Galway Hospice.  To date, the event has raised over €10,000 for Galway Hospice!

The event was a huge success and immensely enjoyable for everyone involved.

The pull eased off at 9am on Sunday morning from the Loughrea GAA Pitch with Nick Hadley leading the Grid Network Services team.

Later the Leitrim Kilnadeema GAA team, captained by Franky Burke, took over the pull from the Portumna Road to Dartfield, followed by Dessie O’Brien’s team who pulled to Kilreekil village.  

Next up was Pat Quinn and the Ballygar team who pulled halfway to Cappataggle, where they changed with Carl Creaven’s Country-Man and Home to Rome team.  Next to take the lead at Cappataggle was Sean Stankard’s team who pulled to Aughrim Hill, followed by John Egan and the ADA who brought the tractor into Aughrim.  The Lissyegan/Kilcrin/Eglish team led by Joe Kenny pulled to Caher Cross and the pull was then taken up by the Ahascragh Juvenile GAA (Pat Kelly) team who pulled to Garbally gates.  All the teams then joined up and all pulled together into a warm welcome at St. Michael’s Square in Ballinasloe at 2pm.

The organisers of the event would like to thank a number of groups, including Free Flow Traffic Management who gave their time on Sunday and helped to manage the traffic along the route.  Also to all the Marshalls for their help on the day and to the ladies who travelled the route with buckets collecting for Galway Hospice.

Also thanks to Marty Donoghue Bus Hire who kindly volunteered his services and ferried the teams between their relay points.  Thanks to the Loughrea and Ballinasloe Gardai who supervised the pull all day.

 Also thanks to the Order of Malta, Domac Plant Hire and Loughrea Plant Hire who placed electronic warning signs along the route.

Thanks to Michael Kelly for supplying the tractor, to Grid Network Services for all their help and the support vehicles, and to all the businesses in Ballinasloe for their sponsorship.  And finally a big “thank you” to all the people who fundraised with sponsorship cards.

Finally thanks so much to Paul Kelly and all the organisers of this event who dedicated their time and effort to raising much-needed funds for Galway Hospice.

Events like this are so important to Galway Hospice in terms of sustainable fundraising.  We need to raise €1.6 million EVERY YEAR to cover all the costs associated with keeping our Home Care and Day Care services available to those that need them. 

Thanks to all concerned!