A Cork woman is set to participate in a 220km solo tractor run in honour of her father's legacy.
Sandra Patterson will embark on the tractor journey in remembrance of her father's historic tractor and to raise funds for two local hospitals that have cared for many generations of her family, according to a report in the Irish Independent.
Patterson plans to start her journey on Wednesday, August 19th in her 1975 Ford 6600 from Ballinacarriga to Castletownbere via the Mealagh Valley, a 220km round trip, returning on Thursday, August 20.
The route has been carefully chosen as a tribute to her father, John Patterson, retracing the longest journeys he made over decades in the same tractor while hauling grain and beet through the Mealagh Valley.
In the local area, her father's tractor has become well known and is considered a local legend.
“It holds a lifetime of memories. Dad worked tirelessly with it for years and it represents his love of farming. Driving the same tractor on one of his most memorable routes is my way of honouring everything he has done," Patterson said via the Irish Independent.
Patterson's father, has been a resident of Clonakilty Community Hospital for more than seven years and has been living with dementia.
Her mother and uncle have become residents of Dunmanway Community Hospital in recent months.
Paying tribute to the management and staff in both hospitals, Patterson said via the Irish Independent: “I simply cannot speak highly enough of the care my family has received. This is my way of saying thank you and giving something back to two places that have cared for so many of the people I love.”
Patterson aims to raise as much money for the hospitals as possible and "hopes the local community will get behind the initiative," she said via the Irish Independent.
“This run is about remembering Dad, celebrating our farming heritage and supporting two wonderful hospitals that mean so much to our family and our community," she continued.
