Phenomenal sight as 175 combines smash record

They set out hoping to attract 100 combine owners, and in the end, were forced to begin turning them away due to the phenomenal response to Combines4charity's record-breaking event at Platin, near Duleek, on Saturday. An estimated crowd of between 6,000 and 8,000 people turned up on the day to witness the magnificant spectacle as the 175 combines began cutting the corn to set a new Guinness World Record for the most combine harvesters working in one field at the one time. Combines4Charity was the brainchild of Philip Brady from Kildalkey who saw footage of the previous world record set in Australia with 56 combines and thought to himself that a group of Irish farmers could beat that. A committee was formed of 10 local cereal-growers in Meath and the date was set for 15th August at Gerry Curran's field at Platin. The organisers chose four charities to benefit from the event: The Gary Kelly Cancer Support Centre, the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Self-Help Africa and Barnardos. They set themselves a target of raising €200,000 for the charities and, while the final amount is not yet in, it looks as though the target will have been achieved. Saturday morning came and so did the rain but the organisers did not lose faith and there was never a question of the event being cancelled. By mid-morning the rain had stopped and while the organisers had hoped the record attempt would begin at 3pm, they held off until 5.30pm to give the ground a chance to dry out a bit more. At 5.30pm, the world record attempt finally got underway and 175 combines got to work in the 100-acre field. It took just 11 minutes for the corn to be cut. Tony Brady, organising committee PRO, said it had been a "great day and a great achievement". Despite the rain on Saturday morning, he said "10 thick farmers would not give in to the weather" and at no stage did they plan to cancel. They kept faith in the weather forecast which picked up as the day went on. Mr Brady thanked Gerry Curran for the use of his field and to everyone who came to their aid on the day, to the 183 owners who brought their combines and all who came along to support them. "The help from local people and contractors was unreal. Panda brought woodchip. there were diggers and tractors and trailers to transport it and spread it. The community in Duleek and Donore really got behind us," he said. Mr Brady said there was a cheer as the combines set off and, at the end of it, there was an astounded silence. The spectacle was surreal, he added. He went on: "We would like to thank the people for being so patient. The event was supposed to be at 3pm but didn't take place until 5.30pm and people waited patiently and were all in good spirits. On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank people for the supporting us and the courtesy and consideration they gave to us as we were moving the combines on the road." He added that people can still donate to the charity, if they wish, and said they would not be closing the account until after the harvest. Anyone who would like to donate, the Combines4Charity account is sort code 932094, account number 45837078. The oldest driver was 83 and the value of the machinery in the field was almost €20m. The total horsepower is estimated at 35,000bhp. Combine-owners travelled from as far away as Cork in the south, Sligo in the west, and Craigavon in Northern Ireland, making it a truly Irish record. The organisers were delighted with the turnout given the rain that morning and believe that, if the weather had stayed fine, they could have had double the 6,000-8,000 crowd which did turn up. The final tally for the money raised is not yet known as money is still coming in. but one group of 25 combine-owners managed to raise a fantastic €78,000 between them. Mr Brady said they are hopefull that they will have raised slightly in excess of the €200,000 target which, he noted, was fantastic in the middle of a recession.