Building up a head of steam for charity run this weekend!

The Meath Steam Run in conjunction with Celtic Steamers and Moynalty Steam Threshing Festival will take place on the 5th and 6th of July.

The run will feature 20 full size steam engines and five miniature ones will travel through towns and villages from Trim to Navan to Kells and back to Moynalty to raise funds for Breast Cancer Ireland and Féileacáin, a charity that supports bereaved parents around the time of birth.

The inaugural Meath Steam Run that took place in 2018 raised an incredible €43,000 for Meath Palliative Care and the Meath Hospice Home Care Movement.

Organiser Ronan Gaynor who is heavily involved in the iconic Moynalty Steam Threshing explains how the event came to fruition.

“I've always had a love for steam engines,” said Ronan.

“I don't have one but I always had a passion for them and a lot of memories around the steam engines coming to Moynalty down through the years,” he added.

“I thought the charity run would be a good idea and approached my friends who have steam engines throughout the country to see if this was something they would be interested in doing.

“They came on board straight away with it and these machines are coming from all over the country from as far as the very top of Tyrone down to the bottom of Cork.”

The steam engines taking part will be gathering in Trim and Athboy on Thursday evening 4th July, a spectacle not to be missed according to Ronan who said:

“This is not a sight you see in Trim or Athboy every day!

“Families can come out and get their photographs taken with them. We have a trailer behind one of the steam engines where kids can get a spin up behind them on the trailer.

“The steam run itself is leaving on Friday morning 5th July from Trim Castle at 11am.

“Launching it in Trim and to see us on our way we have Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, Meath Manager Colm O'Rourke and TV personality Hugh Wallace.

“We will have 93-year-old Tommy Dignam, the oldest resident in Moynalty, he was with us in 2018 and he is still going strong.”

Navan will need to brace itself for a convoy of steam engines that will line the main street on Saturday 6th July!

“We will head to Navan and we are bringing seven or eight of them into the town around lunchtime and we are going to park them along Trimgate Street,” said Ronan.

“It is a bit of fun but the important thing is that we are trying to raise funds for two great charities, Breast Cancer Ireland and Féileacáin.

“Businesses have the opportunity to come on board and sponsor an engine. The big engines are €1,000, the half size engine is €500 and the miniature engines are €250, however we are open to all donations and will we will be shaking buckets on the day.

“When the Steam Run comes back to Moynalty on the Saturday night we have live bands, food vendors on site, a full bar and a BBQ, it's an event not to be missed!”

For those interested steam engines will be on display on Athboy's main street and Marcies Regans Pub and Griffin's Pub in Trim from 6pm - 10pm on Thursday 4th July.

The engines will also be on display on Trimgate St, Railway St and Church Hill in Navan from 2pm - 10pm on Friday July 5th.

The run will end with live music and food in Moynalty Threshing field on Saturday 6th July from 6pm until late!

For more detailed timings across the three days see the poster above.