Potato picking

Image via Wikipedia September was the season for potato picking, we usually had a week off school at this time of year. There was about half a dozen different farms where we used to go each year. Near neighbours Barney McKenna, Billy Johnson and James Loughrey were the farms we most frequented. The field in front of our house was quite large and whenever McKenna's had spuds in this field it was a big job to complete. Barney had a tractor which pulled a digger used to turn the potato drills, while the pickers followed with their baskets, usually in pairs or sometime threes if there were younger ones along that day. On filling the basket it was carried by 2 people to a large heap some where in the field and emptied into the 'pit'.

The Loughrey's farm was behind our house and they had several fields which they rotated with potatoes. We liked going there because of the food, it was better than the average. One field in particular was on top of a small hill. On one occasion after we had finished picking for the day the tractor was left parked in the field. My younger brother Seamus climbed on board and somehow managed to release the brake. The tractor headed off down the slope towards the hedge with Seamus still holding on. On the other side of this hedge there was a 6 foot drop and luckily he fell off as the tractor crossed the hedge.

It then ran one hundred yards down the next field and was stopped as it ran into a sturdy tree. Before the tractor had stopped I was half way home across 2 fields and the lane with the cherry trees with the story of the runaway tractor. Everyone was in a panic, wondering what had happened to my younger brother. However 15 minutes later he wandered home without a scratch without a care in the world. I cannot remember what happened to the tractor. It wasn't in good shape, neither would Seamus have been if he had stayed on it.