De Courcey celebrates its Claas

The August bank holiday Monday will be a special event in the history of Claas in Ireland as De Courcey Vintage Club from Kinsale, Co Cork, hosts a special Claas centenary event, to commemorate 100 years of Claas machinery production. This year’s event will be the focal point of Class’ centenary celebrations in Ireland.

The event, which will supported by Claas and local dealers McCarthy Plant and Agri, will celebrate the German manufacturer’s 100th anniversary with a large display of vintage, classic and modern Claas equipment.

The working combine displays will range from the Claas Junior to include a working combine model from every Claas combine era, right up to the current range. There will also be balers and other harvesting equipment on display.

The De Courcey team has put together an interesting day, with a unique Claas section from past and present, working alongside a range of other vintage harvesting machines. There will be a significant Claas static display on the site which is owned by prominent tillage farmer, Jim O’Regan and located close to Barrel’s Cross, just a short distance from Kinsale.

It is fitting that the Claas centenary celebrations take place in Cork as Cork was one of the first counties in Ireland to use the German-built machines. Atkins of Cork imported a number of trailer Claas combine in the early 1950s and the first four machines were owned and worked locally. At least one of these early machines will be in action at the De Courcey event.

The machines will be harvesting a 35-acre crop of Cassia winter barley, which will be well ripe for the conditions. Jim O’Regan and his son, Martin, have managed the crop for the De Courcey Vintage Club for this special event, so that it will provide an ideal backdrop to celebrate the centenary of Europe’s biggest combine harvester maker and reflect on its 70 years in Ireland.

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The event is being supported by Claas as part of European wide celebrations by the company.

The first consignment of Claas combines

Corkman Denis Murphy, now living in Kilkenny, tells the story of the arrival of the first Claas combines to Cork in 1950. Denis worked with Irish agents McCulloch’s of Ballyboughal at the time and later with Harvest Machinery.

In 1950, Atkins of Cork imported four Claas Super Combines. These had a seven foot fold up cutter bar and rubber type elevator taking the crop to the drum. They were also fitted with straw trussers.

Although each combine was equipped with a PTO drive, each also had a Ford Model A auxiliary engine running on petrol. This was supplied to combine owners duty free as the tractors at the time weren’t strong enough to tow and drive the combine.

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The following year, Atkins sold 35 combines. These 1951 models were powered by David Brown engines. After that, as tractor engines got more powerful, the auxiliary engines were done away with.

The buyers of the first four combines were Paddy O’Brien, Inniscarra, Denis Buckley, Ballinahina, Cork, Denis Walsh, Knockalyne, Blarney and William Murphy, Knockalyne, Blarney, all Cork farmers.

These combines all arrived in Cork dock in packed form for transport. Cutter bar, elevators, wheels had to be assembled. The engines arrived separately as they came from the Ford factory in Germany.

I was involved in the assembly. Once the wheels were fitted, we towed them with a Case model D tractor as Atkins was agents for Case.

The present Claas Super now owned by John O’Neill was first sold to Denis Walsh, Blarney who for many years used it locally. This machine was then purchased by Pakie Walsh, Blarney who used to cut corn for Inniscarra Vintage Club, as well as other events.

Pakie Walsh and I spent many years looking after Claas Combines with the change over from tractor drawn to self-propelled machines. When Pakie Walsh died this machine was bought by John O’Neill who restored it to its present condition.

Claas combine history

1936: Claas first trailer combine

1946: Claas Super trailer combine

1953: Claas SF first self-propelled combine by Claas

1966: Claas Senator

1970: Claas Dominator

1981: Claas Dominator CS

1995: Claas Lexion

2003: Claas produces its 400,000 combine

Michael O’Sullivan tells his Claas story

Michael was born and raised in Dromahane, Mallow, Co Cork and, today, he and his sons Michael and Patrick farm at Lombardstown, Mallow. Michael bought the first Claas self-propelled combine sold in the Cork region in 1956.

It all started in 1955. Switzer Kingston, of Bandon, had an advert in the Cork Examiner looking for combine harvester drivers. I had a small bit of experience driving a Massey Ferguson combine and I went down to Bandon to get the job.

I was a bit shaky for a few days but got on very well after that. That was early August 1955 and I was with Switzer until October of that year when I found myself working near Dublin.

Mr Johnson, who was the farm manager for Switzer was organising the work for us. They had two Massey Ferguson 780 combines and we usually worked together.

After finishing cutting in Cork, our next stop was Thurles which was a great wheat growing area. I was nearly two weeks cutting lodged wheat for O’Meara solicitors that year. There was no dinner those days, only a sliced pan, ham and tea. I got on the phone to Switzer to explain my story about the dinner situation.

He came up from Bandon that day and took us out for dinner in Thurles. I nearly eat the legs of the table. It was about that time that Switzer and Major Donegan were working hard in the formation of Cork Marts. I found Switzer a decent man to work for.

After Thurles, we worked towards Dublin. We worked in Urlingford, Offaly, Kildare, Ratoath, Maynooth, Mulhuddard and Dunboyne.

We then came home to Bandon and worked on the sugar beet campaign for Mallow. I then worked away on the home farm and, as my mother had a poultry and turkey farm, I was never short of a job.

I went to the Cork Summer Show in June 1956. Atkin’s of Patrick’s Quay had a Claas SF self-propelled combine, which I was impressed with. The late Paddy Walsh of Blarney was on the Atkins stand. I suppose Paddy knew that I was young and foolish and he talked the combine up well.

I came home and had a talk with my parents, Edmund and Ellen O’Sullivan of Dromahane, Mallow. They bought the combine for me for a price of £2,250. You could buy a nice farm for that money at that time.

I first went down to Dungarvan, Co Waterford, with the combine where there was plenty of work available. I went down on the train with my bicycle first and when I had found enough work, I drove down the combine.

Dungarvan Co-op had two trailer combines on hire but could not cope with the amount of work. So, they took me on with them. It was very convenient for me as I had the use of their yard, was able to get diesel and they would also collect the money for the work done.

I came back home them and worked away locally, mostly harvesting spring barley until the harvest was finished. That time, each farmer had 10 to 15 acres of grain. I went up to Thurles then, a 10-hour journey which was done overnight. I parked the combine in the square in Thurles and put up a sign ‘For Hire’.

Again, there was plenty of work available. A lot of Cork-based combines were working around Thurles at the time.

I met Crowley’s of Ballincollig. There was Frank who sorted me out if there was anything wrong with the combine, Dan who farms in Inniscarra and Denis Crowley from Mallow.

In all of my travels with combines, I cut corn in 10 counties in Ireland. I was driving combines for 40 years. I bought six new combines in my time. There was a big improvement in combines during that period, especially in terms of output.

But I will always remember the first one, the Claas SF, registration number CIF 357, which I bought in 1956.