Convoy!
Those of a certain age that still remember that 1978 Convoy movie can look forward to a rare treat today. Paying homage to the Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw movie, farmers from all over the county are to stage their own convoy through the centre of Limerick today.
Dozens of tractors will converge on the city centre today entering the city from various routes and will congregate at the Grassland Fertilizers yard on the Dock Road. The route has been pre arranged with Gardai so movie fanatics are unlikely to be able to see a dozen or so Massey Fergusons thundering through a Garda road block as a “bear in the air” watches on overhead.
The Irish Farmers Association is organising the convoy to highlight government cuts and inaction on collapsing farm incomes. Limerick IFA county chairman Eddie Scanlan said they will begin moving before 12pm: “We’ll go down the Dock Road to the new Shannon bridge. We will take a right at the roundabout then left onto Henry Street and down to Arthur’s Quay. We will come around on to Patrick Street and then up O’Connell Street.”
Convoy Part Deux is expected to last over an hour. The IFA said that the protest is not designed to cause traffic chaos but to highlight the plight of farmers. Whilst not unsympathetic to the plight of the farming community I wonder if there are better ways to highlight your cause than a re-enactment of a 1978 B movie through Limerick city centre. Perhaps the politicians that are responsible for setting policy might be a better target than the tax paying public that will suffer as a result of this convoy.
Highlighting that through a combination of poor farm market prices for all commodities, a disastrous and costly wet summer and repeated draconian Government cuts on farm schemes, farm incomes are expected to fall by 25 per cent in 2009. This combined with a reduction of 13 per cent in 2008 means that farm incomes will have fallen by over 35 per cent in the last two years, Mr Scanlon is calling on all farmers to get out there and support the convoy.
That’s a big 10-4 good buddy and we look forward to seeing the IFA’s future re enactments of other classic road movies as Smokey and the Bandit, Herbie Rides again and my particular favourite Mad Max.