A Midland farmer believes his stolen tractor and grain trailer may have travelled over 100km to Co Clare on the night of the theft.

Rory Doyle’s 12LS 1137 registered red Massey Ferguson 6480 was stolen from a farm at The Rock, Mountmellick along with a red Broughan grain trailer with a rollover cover on the night of Friday, January 12.

Following the theft, Rory who put the combined value of the tractor and trailer in the region of between €70,000 and €80,000, issued an appeal on Facebook and through the Done Deal website. Rory only bought the equipment last summer. "I am still paying for the tractor," he remarked.

He suspects the tractor and trailer travelled over 100km on the night they were taken. “We tracked it to the general Killaloe area,”explained Rory.

He praised the response of his neighbours who he said would not see him stuck, but said, “it is impacting us bad, sure we need the tractor to do our work.”

The tillage farmer said, “it is hard enough to make a living” without some stealing your equipment.

Rory admitted he wasn’t really aware of tractor thefts in the prior to putting out his appeal. However, since last Saturday, he said people from across the country had been sharing their experiences.

He was contacted by a farmer in neighbouring Offaly and one in Carlow. Both had tractors stolen but only one farmer had his recovered.

Rory believes the thieves who targeted his farm had prior knowledge of the area. “They knew what they were going for,” Rory commented. As one of the few tillage farmers in the area he said, “that size of tractor trailer in this part of the country would stand out.”

He was delighted at the response his appeal got online and said, “Facebook was one of the best so far”. He said “people are very good.

Everybody wants these people caught because they know it could happen to themselves at any time.”

Rory said CCTV is being collected along the route the tractor is believed to have travelled. He is appealing to anyone who spotted the tractor or trailer to contact their local Garda Station.

Online Editors