Bracknagh dairy farmer crowned a ‘Farm Hero’ on last Friday's Late Late

Eugene O’Neill, a dairy farmer from Bracknagh, has taken the title of AXA Farm Hero and a prize fund of €10,000

Ireland’s largest general insurance company, AXA Insurance dac, announced its first AXA Farm Hero winner on last Friday's The Late Late Show.

A father of five and a full-time farmer and agri-contractor, Eugene was nominated for his inspiring work fundraising for Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin, previously known as Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin.

In 2010, at five years of age, Eugene’s son Diarmaid was diagnosed with Perthes disease. He endured numerous surgeries, hospital stays and periods of wheelchair confinement. The fantastic work carried out by the orthopaedic and surgical teams in Crumlin has ensured that Diarmaid has made a full recovery. He now not only plays football with his local club, but he is also a member of the Offaly U14 football team and has won an Offaly County Boxing title.

The care received from the team in Crumlin inspired Eugene to give something back to the hospital. In 2013, Eugene spoke with three other local farmers about an idea to hold a Tractor Run to raise funds for the hospital.

He worked tirelessly, motivating and encouraging the small committee to seek sponsorship for the event, encouraging drivers to participate and getting people to attend.

Since the inaugural run in 2013, the event continued to grow year-on-year, both in terms of vehicles participating and crowds attending. To date, the event has raised over €50,000 for Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin.

The Tractor Run has now become a focal event for the local and farming communities at the end of the harvest, uniting all ages and backgrounds for an extremely worthy cause.

Eugene was presented with a cheque for €10,000 and the other two finalists each received a €1,000 prize, as well as a family break. Commenting on Eugene’s win, the judging panel noted that Eugene was an excellent example of a community activist who showed great leadership and helped to bring three counties together for a truly worthy cause.

Antoinette McDonald, director of customer experience said AXA wanted to honour someone who goes above and beyond in their local community. 

Commenting on the award, Christy Doherty, head of farm at AXA, said an AXA Farm Hero is someone who goes out of their way to help their neighbour and their community.

"The rural community in Ireland is hugely supportive of one another and we want to recognise those people and the time and energy they give to helping others. The nominations for this award really shone a light on the inspiring farmers and farm families across the country.”