11 years of the Saddlers Inn Tractor & Truck Drive

On Sunday, January 1, 2023 The Saddlers Inn Tractor and Truck Drive will celebrate its eleventh anniversary.

The Kneale family home was devastated by a fire in November 2011 and in a bid to help and raise funds for the family The Saddlers Inn organised and hosted its first Tractor Drive on January 1, 2012. It was a huge success and enjoyed by all so the Tractor Drive became an annual event since then.

The Tractor and Truck Drive is 11 years old in 2023 but due to the coronavirus in 2021 it has only had ten drives.

From those ten drives they have raised nearly €33,000 for local families and national charities. 720 tractors have registered for the drives and €20,500 of the money raised has helped out five local families and for that they thank each and everyone of you who has taken part, donated and contributed in any way over the years.

On January 1, 2023, they ask you to come out and take part in the Annual Tractor and Truck Drive for a very special boy, Donnacha Horan and girl, Lucy Croghan.

Lucy is a three year old from Frenchpark, Co Roscommon and was diagnosed a few days before Christmas 2022 with Stage 4 Wilms Tumour. Over the last year Lucy has spent some time in Crumlin Children’s Hospital for chemotherapy, radiation and more recently stem cell transplants.

Lucy is currently at home isolating after the stem cell transplant but travels to Dublin twice a week for bloods and platelets.
Donnacha Horan, a six year old boy from Fairymount, Co Roscommon was diagnosed in January 2018 with a form of liver disease.

In March 2019 Donnacha suffered his first major infection which was pneumonia and sepsis, he also suffered a bleed at this time. During 2020 he suffered with a number of gastrointestinal infections and needed six hospital admissions during the year.

During the summer of 2021 the medicines that Donnacha took to control fluid in his abdomen stopped working. His next challenge came in the form of an infection which left him in septic shock.

On January 18, 2022 Donnacha’s parents were told the news that Donnacha would now need a liver transplant. Donnacha has recently returned from England after a liver transplant operation and is working with his team in Crumlin Children’s Hospital.

All wish both Lucy, Donnacha and both their families a very Merry Christmas.

Registration of tractors and trucks will commence at 11.30am on Sunday, January 1 with the drive leaving from The Saddlers Inn, Kingsland, Boyle, Co Roscommon (F52 HV07) at 1pm, entry fee is €20 per tractor or truck. The organisers would love to see a large turnout of tractors and trucks on the day.

You can follow them on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date on The Tractor and Truck Drive. For further information or any queries please call us on 087 – 2595560. They look forward to seeing you on the day.