Transition years students at a school in the midlands have become the first in the country to take part in an initiative which will see them restore a vintage Porsche tractor.
The students from Mercy Secondary School in Ballymahon, Co Longford, have the rest of the school year to complete the project and return the vintage Porsche junior tractor to its former glory.
The school is the first in Ireland and the UK to be selected for the European wide 'Porsche Junior Restoration Projekt', which gives hands-on experience in mechanics, teamwork, and heritage preservation.
Former student at the school, Pauric Connolly, runs a car dealership in Ballymahon and is helping the students.
"This particular Porsche tractor originated in Holland. It came with a plough. It would have been very significant back in the day," he said.
"The Porsche junior tractor that the students are working on is a single cylinder, with air cool diesel and up to 12 horsepower.
"Before coming to Ireland, this type of tractor was predominantly used in European vineyards or on small farms," he said.
Porsche went on to launch larger models, but the junior is known as "the baby".
"Many people who had these tractors would have used them as a car as well as a tractor," said Mr Connolly.
"It's a project that's never been undertaken in our school, or any other school in the country and I'm looking forward to seeing the finish line"
"On some of the footage, you will see the wing on the seat, that's called a grandmother seat, and that would have been used for going to the shops or other jobs."
The tractor also had a distinctive sound and the students will be working to ensure that is fully maintained.
"There's a lovely thump out of it. This particular one that we're doing is a single cylinder and the significance of the actual Porsche is that they're air cooled, as opposed to water," Mr Connolly said.
With support from the Porsche Europe and Ireland, Porsche Club Ireland and the wider community, the restoration is well under way.
Eight students are involved along with their TY Coordinator, Colin Seery, and lead teacher, Donal Tansey.
"They're going to gain skills from this that you just don't simply get from sitting in a classroom and will gain skills that they can bring on to use in life outside of school," said Mr Tansey.
"We're at the point of no return at the minute now, it's at its lowest point, so we're, you know, turning the corner to build it back up again.
"It's a project that's never been undertaken in our school, or any other school in the country and I'm looking forward to seeing the finish line," he added.
The finish line is, however, a way off yet and over the last few weeks, the students have been taking the tractor apart, to build it back up again, a complex and challenging task.
"It's very delicate, even taking out the alternator, we have to be very careful and very gentle with pulling it out, not to break a cog or anything like that," said student Gavin Bohan.
Aoife Farrell, another student involved in the project, said she wanted to get involved to learn more about vintage tractors.
"It's been great so far getting the hands on experience and meeting new people, it's been really good," she said.
Just a few weeks in, the students said they are already gaining a real understanding into the workings of the tractor.
"We've taken apart a lot of the tractor, and we've actually learned a lot of new skills, like taking off wheels and stuff so it's been very interesting so far," said student Lisa McMonagle.
The students work on the tractor whenever they have the opportunity, with the deadline of next summer looming.
"It sounds like a lot of time, but really it's not. We're going to go down to the wire, but hopefully we get it done," said student Ben Dawson Stanely.
'Projekt Porsche Junior' has been running all over Europe for the last 18 years and 135 tractors have been restored, involving over 3,500 students in more than 70 locations.
As well as restoring these barn finds, often in dire need of repair, back to both technical and visual perfection, the project also includes a documentation component, where students publish their progress online as a blog or microsite.
The students at Mercy Secondary School are charting their progress on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook and hope to the have the tractor ready to go on display at the Ploughing Championships next September.
"We've got fantastic support from former students and from the wider Ballymahon school community, and we're really excited and looking forward to seeing the finished product this time next year, when we're ready for sale," said Principal Gary Kenny.
