Six members of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers' Association (INHFA) will take to their tractors for a 710km charity trek from Mizen Head in Co. Cork to Malin Head in Co. Donegal - the most southern point to the most northern point on the island of Ireland.

The vehicle of choice for the charity journey will be Massey Ferguson 135s, one to each man. These tractors ceased production in 1975.

The effort is in aid of a number of charities, and his in memory of John O'Malley, father of one of the participants, who died 20 years ago from pancreatic cancer, and whose first tractor was a Massey Ferguson 135.

The six men are planning to set out on January 29, and are hoping to complete the journey by February 2.

John O'Malley died on March 8, 2005 at the age of 51, and his death left "a huge void" in his family and in the local community and beyond where he worked as an agricultural contractor.

Approaching the 20^th anniversary of his death, several ideas were floated on how best to remember John. His son Tomás, and a group of his friends have come together to organise this tractor run in his honor.

John was a neighbour of Gena Heraty, who has lived in the Caribbean country Haiti for around 30 years.

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world, and Gena has spent her time their volunteering to help children who are in need due to poverty, illness or disability.

For that reason, the Gena Heraty Haiti Fund will be one of the charitable causes to benefit from the proceeds of the tractor run.

The organisers of the tractor run said: "The Gena Heraty Special Needs Programmes in Haiti are very dear to many people’s hearts, our Westport drivers included. The children and adults with special needs; their staff and families; and all the volunteers are inspirational and are amazingly resilient.

The other charities to benefit are the Cancer Fund for Children and Daisy Lodge Mayo; and Mayo-Roscommon Hospice.

Cancer Fund for Children is an all-island charity providing support to children, young people and families impacted by cancer. As well as providing home, community and hospital support, Cancer Fund for Children offers families the opportunity to take a short therapeutic break free of charge at 'Daisy Lodge', a purpose-built centre in Newcastle, Co. Down.

A second Daisy Lodge centre is in the currently in development in Cong, Co. Mayo.

Mayo-Roscommon Hospice Foundation exists to fund palliative care services to people with life-limiting illnesses and their families in counties Mayo and Roscommon. The foundation offers care and support to meet the physical and emotional needs of patients and their families living with life-threatening illnesses.

The organisers of the tractor run said that every euro raised goes straight to charity, as the driers are bearing their own costs for the event.

Ciaran Nolan of Beirne Express Freight will get the tractor down to Mizen head, from where the six men will begin the arduous journey.

The six participants are:

David Hastings;
Phillip Hastings;
Tomás O'Malley;
Phillip Robb;
Jamie Langan;
Dominick McGreal.

Information on how can you donate can be found on the Facebook page set up for the tractor run, which can be found here.

The charity fund will remain open for a month following the conclusion of the tractor run.

The six participants said: "So many people have worked very hard to organise this event. To each and everyone one of them we are very grateful.

"This, by its nature, is a once-off event and we won’t be asking for funding again. We are deeply indebted to everyone that has already donated and to those that will do so in the coming weeks," they said.

They added: "We have one last request. A small prayer to whatever God you believe in for favourable weather would be greatly appreciated."