Michael English and the Rise of Tractors In Ireland | Season 6 – Episode 4

Описание: 👋 Hey followers! In this video-story from our new contributor Michael English-Colohan, we look back at the life of his grandfather, Michael English (1888–1958), who witnessed in his lifetime a profound transformation of Irish society and the farming industry.

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++Due to social media limits, this is a shortened version of Michael English-Colohan’s story — full story at www.irelandmade.ie

Michael English was born on June 10, 1888, in Bonnettstown, Kilkenny, when horses still ruled the fields and steam engines were new marvels. His early life felt the aftershocks of the Land War, as tensions between landlords and tenants lingered. The family lived modestly; his father was a coachman for the Smithwick estate. It was a quiet rural life until the world began to change.

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OPPORTUNITY IN DUBLIN
In 1917, Michael’s life took a decisive turn. His brother Patrick, an insurance salesman in Dublin with links to Whiting-Bull Tractors, helped him find work. As wartime demand for food grew, tractors began replacing horses. Whiting-Bull, a Canadian firm producing tractors in Dublin, needed skilled workers. With steam engine experience, Michael was an ideal fit. He moved to Dublin, joined siblings on Lower Pembroke Street and took a job at Whiting-Bull on Percy Place.

WORKING FOR WHITING BULL
The company sold tractors to large farms and estates across Ireland, including the Headfort Estate in Kells, County Meath, where vast land needed fast, efficient ploughing. Michael was sent there to train farmers on the new machines, setting him on a lifelong path in farm machinery. In Kells he met Mary Fitzsimons, who worked in the estate kitchen.

In 1918, with the world still at war, Michael and Mary married during a turbulent time in Ireland. The Easter Rising had stirred nationalist sentiment and the country faced war for independence followed by civil war from 1922 to 1923. Amid the upheaval, Michael’s tractor work remained steady as they began their family.

MOVE TO FERGUSON
In the years that followed Michael worked in the growing agricultural machinery trade for Harry Ferguson whose Ferguson System transformed farming with integrated tractor and implement use. Their showroom on Lower Baggot Street and the garage and yard to the rear off Mackies Place were beside Michael’s home.

Through his life, Michael witnessed profound changes. He lived through the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 and its eventual transformation into a republic in 1949. As a man who had been born into an Ireland dominated by agriculture and horses, he saw the country modernise in ways that would have seemed unimaginable in his youth.

By the time of his death in 1958, having worked for over 45 years, tractors and machines had taken over the fields and Ireland itself had become a very different place.

Michael English’s life traced the transformation of Irish society and farming. From humble Kilkenny beginnings to helping modernise agriculture, he played a part in Ireland’s shift from colonial agrarian roots to an independent nation embracing modernity. His story mirrors the countless others who worked and adapted during one of Ireland’s most transformative eras.

Story by Michael English-Colohan

Michael English-Colohan from Dublin, a Domestic appliance / TV audio and computer Sales Executive for 40 years and for 35 years an active motorcyclist, competitor and senior member of the Motor Cycle Union of Ireland, two years General Secretary for the sport in Ireland. Representing Ireland at motorcycle races in England and the Isle of Man TT races as a member on the Stewards panel overseeing the events.

Sources of Photo Information & Video Credits:
1917 Big Bull - Aultman Taylor - YouTube
Flickr - K Garret
Gas Engine Magazine
H. J. Pugh & Co.
Hulton Deutsch/Corbis/Getty Images
Picryl
Pintrest - Arthur Kavanagh
Road Locomotive Society
The Commercial Motor Archive

If you have an idea for a story, please email Kevin Reid [email protected]

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