Carrick-on-Suir gears up for its 10th annual Christmas tractors parade

A massive convoy of tractors covered in dazzling fairy lights will trundle through Carrick-on-Suir town centre on Saturday, December 16 for the 10th annual Christmas Tractors of Carrick Parade.

Thousands are expected to gather in the town and other communities to watch the glittering pageant of Christmas light festooned tractors ranging from John Deeres and New Hollands to Massey Ferguson and Claas models .

The event is being organised once again by the Crop Cruisers tractor drivers, who report a record number of entries for this year’s event.

Tractors and their drivers from Limerick, Cork, Wexford and Laois will join the local drivers and their mighty machines from Carrick-on-Suir’s hinterland that stretches into counties Kilkenny and Waterford.

Parade founder and organiser Stuart Downie of the Crop Cruisers, said there is a large contingent of tractors from Mooncoin taking part in the parade which will start at a secret location in the Piltown area shortly after 5pm. 

The fleet of tractors will begin its tour by travelling to Fiddown where they will cross the Fiddown Bridge over the River Suir into county Waterford and head to Portlaw.

The parade will then pass through the villages of Clonea-Power and Rathgormack before heading to Carrick-on-Suir. They will enter the town via Seskin Hill. 

Mr Downie, a farmer from Tybroughney, Carrick-on-Suir, said they expect to reach Carrick-on-Suir around 7pm.

The Christmas tractors will cross Dillon Bridge and take the parade’s usual route down Main Street, through Sean Kelly Square and onto the N24.

The parade will travel up to the traffic lights at Carrick Garda Station and then turn right onto New Street finishing at the New Street Car Park opposite Carrick-on-Suir Town Hall where families can get a closer look at the gloriously lit up tractors.

When Stuart and his friends staged the first ever Christmas Tractors Parade in Carrick-on-Suir in 2013 it was an entirely new event inspired by the famous Coca Cola Christmas advert featuring the fairy lights decorated truck.

The Carrick-on-Suir parade is now replicated before Christmas each year in many other towns around the country.
Appeal for volunteers

Staging an event of this size involves a lot of organisation and work by volunteers.

Stuart said the Crop Cruisers need more volunteers to help steward at the parade as it passes through Carrick-on-Suir.
Anyone interested in volunteering should contact the Crop Cruisers via the group’s Facebook page.