Donegal charity tractor run nears journey’s end

A farm-worker who has rarely been outside Donegal and who has never been in Dublin, is more than half-way through a 320-kilometre charity  tractor run.
41 year-old Alan Robb from Raphoe has been leading a five-strong convoy of 60-year-old tractors out of Maynooth aiming to reach Donegal today.
Alan, who collects vintage tractors, bought his International B275 10 years ago for €500 and has spent more than €2,000 to make it roadworthy.
Unmarried Alan, who lives in an old cottage outside Raphoe, said he had never been to Dublin. He never had a yearning to go to the big city.
The tractor run was started to raise funds for people with extreme learning difficulties who have been transferred from large institutions to live at the Sean O’Hare Unit attached to St Joseph’s Hospital, Stranorlar.
Convoy organiser John Lanigan, nurse manager at the Sean O’Hare Unit, said: the drivers have slept in tents on the side of the road to ensure that all donations go directly to the fund.