Further details have emerged of the extraordinary Pull-a-Truck challenge being undertaken by Ballinrobe GAA Club on Saturday, July 30th.
As part of the club’s campaign to elect Adrian Flannery as Mayor of Ballinrobe, members will endeavour to pull a truck right round their town, starting on Glebe Street, at 8.15.
It has now been revealed that the vehicle in question will be a 14-tonne articulated lorry. “This is some brute of a challenge,” said Mayoral candidate Adrian Flannery, who will not lose any sweat on the evening as he will be perched in the cab of the truck.
Up to 70 men, women, boys and girls will be deployed in the mammoth undertaking.
Another dimension has been added to the challenge with a Guess the Time event, with the winner receiving a prize of a meal for two in a local restaurant, and entry in the Ballinrobe GAA Club Lotto for a year.
“We want people to predict how long it will take us to get the truck from Arrow Amour Dating Agency on Cornmarket to the front page of St Mary’s Church. That’s the most difficult stretch of the whole route as it involves a steady rise over a few hundred yards,” said a club spokesperson.
“It might also be deemed appropriate that a challenge that starts at a dating agency should end up in the church, but it just so happens that these are the obvious start and finish points for the timed stretch of the event.
“It costs €5 to enter the contest to predict the time. People can select a minute range of, for example, 8-9 minutes. If more than one person predicts the correct range, they will be entered in a draw, and one winner will be pulled from the hat.”
The event will form one of the major attractions of the Queen of the Lakes festival.
“We will pull the truck up Glebe Street, down the full length of New Street, and across Cornmarket, leading us to that considerable rise on Bowgate Street,” added the spokesperson.
An added element is that the club undertake that, at all times during the challenge, there will be two women and two under-age footballers on the ropes. “We aim to show that Ballinrobe has outstanding men, women, boys and girls,” said the spokesperson.
Mayor candidate Adrian Flannery, and the current Mayor Johnny Buckley, will be on the truck for the challenge:
Flannery (Ballinrobe GAA Club), Peter McHugh (Ballinrobe RFC), and Paddy McTigue (Ballinrobe Town AFC) are the contestants who will seek to replace long-serving Mayor Buckley.
The three sports clubs have teamed up to hold the Mayor Contest over the coming months.
‘Votes’ – costing €5 – are now on sale from Ballinrobe GAA club members.
There are some top prizes to be won in a draw for those who cast a vote. These include two nights B&B and evening meal in leading hotels including Ashford Castle, the Slieve Russell, and the McWilliam Park.