The MAJOR Rigid Deck Swift Roller Mower impresses Kerry GAA teams
and supporters with fantastic finish worthy of Premier League at Austin
Stack Park, one of the oldest sports grounds in Ireland.

Austin Stack Park in Tralee, Co Kerry is one of the oldest sports
grounds in Ireland. It has a significant place in Irish athletic history
having hosted one of the first GAA meetings in 1885 right after the Gaelic Athletic Association was formed in 1884.
Today, the 12,000-seat stadium holds football league games and both
league and championship hurling matches, as well as county championship
football and hurling finals.

?There is huge interest in GAA here
? we have quite a lot of seriously good football and hurling teams in
the county,? begins Tony O?Keeffe, Chairman of the Austin Stack Park
Committee and former secretary of the Kerry County Board for 18 years.
?I?ve great interest in the park. The pitch here is always an attraction
so it?s our job to have this pitch in very good condition and increase
the attractiveness of the park.?

Groundsman Ger O?Mahoney is responsible for the overall health and
appearance of the pitch. ?We mow the pitch twice a week in the summer
time and once a week in the winter,? he begins. ?We keep it nice and
short in the summer, especially for hurling we have to have it clipped
quite short. In winter time we keep it longer to give the ground some
protection.?

?We had a small sit on mower which collected the grass but we had
problems with the chutes getting blocked in damp weather, which can be
very often in this part of the world,? remarks Mr. O?Mahoney.

The committee looked for a suitable replacement and were impressed with the MAJOR Swift rollermower (MJ71-190).
The 1.9m model Swift reliably delivers an impeccable finish in a
variety of grass conditions while being low maintenance and easy to
operate.

The fact that a vintage Massey Ferguson 135 tractor purchased in 1969
by Mr O?Keeffe?s father could power the mower was meaningful.

The gearbox drive-line of the rotor-blade system allows it to handle
wet and dry conditions easily. The height can be easily adjusted from
10-130mm for year-round mowing. ?We can cut in all types of weather
without any effect on the field. It?s a mulching mower ? the grass can
be left on the field,? comments Mr. O?Mahoney.

The rigid deck Swift delivers a brilliant finish to the pride of
players and spectators. The 60mm blade overlap with high blade tip
speeds consistently delivers a professional, striped finish with no
windrows. ?It gives a fantastic look with the lovely stripes on our
ground. The players and spectators have complimented on how it?s
looking. It reminds them of pitches in the Premier League they see on television,? notes Mr. O?Mahoney.

The roller on the mower is an important aspect: It levels the little
divots so the playing surface is always very smooth. ?Visiting teams
will come in advance and look at the pitch, particularly from Dublin,?
adds Mr. O?Keeffe. ?And they?ve been very pleased with the system.?

He knows a thing or two about the standard of playing pitches: Tony
O?Keeffe had a distinguished playing career during an era when Kerry
ruled the world of football in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1973, he played
on the Austin Stacks team that brought home the county championship for
the first time since 1936.

Low maintenance and easy operability stand out in the MAJOR Swift roller mower.
?Very easy to operate and needs very little maintenance,? says Mr.
O?Mahoney. ?Only 6-8 grease points once a month, and believe it or not
I?ve only edged the blades once in the 12 months. The cleaning of the
mower is quite simple; you can put a water connection on it and put the
mower running with the result that it will clean the underside of it.
The blades moving around will generate the water splash off the sides.?

As with all MAJOR grounds care products, the Swift rollermower
benefits from galvanisation to increase durability and lifespan. ?One
good thing about the mower is that fact it is galvanised,? continues Mr.
O?Mahoney. ?Obviously it?s going to prevent the body of the mower from
rusting, which in this climate here and in this area where we get a lot
of salt in the air it?s invaluable to us.?

?I?m delighted that it?s an Irish-made mower. It is helping the
economy in one sense, and the other way is MAJOR have taken Irish
conditions into consideration in the design, which is excellent for our
pitch here,? concludes Mr. O?Mahoney.