A DONEGAL master stonemason has been remembered as giant of his field whose legacy towers beyond his death.
James Russell, from Churchill outside Letterkenny, was aged 64 when he sadly died from pancreatic cancer last May 29 – just two months after he was diagnosed.
His bighearted family will today (Thursday) begin a 1,000kms trip to reach Donegal for a first-ever double cycle and vintage tractor run to remember his dying wishes.
His Ruth McClintock told the Donegal News that James carried out many fundraisers over the years and said: “He wanted to do one more fundraiser and thought he would have the time to do it, but it was not to be for him.
“This is where the idea of the tractor run came about. People have shown amazing support.”
Family tractor Davey Brown 780 with Ruth’s husband Terence and daughter Rebecca.
The three-day vintage tractor run leaves Ballygeigue today (Thursday) and is due to arrive in Churchill this Sunday, May 24.
Additionally, James and Ruth’s brother John Russell, who lives in Crosshaven, Co Cork, is doing a cycle from Mizen Head to Malin Head to coincide with the tractor run.
She said: “Everything has gone to plan. The tractors are starting out from Tralee.
“We set up a GoFundMe page called the James Russell Memorial Tractor Run to raise €5,000 for charity, but we’re already over €16,000.
“We have posters up everywhere, including Letterkenny and Glenswilly and Lifford. James would be delighted and would be laughing at all the posters.
“James did so much for all of us over the years and came to everyone’s rescue.
“He was small in height but his achievements were huge. He did it very silently so the true extent of his legacy only came out at his wake and funeral.”
Several iconic tractors are driving 438kms from Tralee in Kerry to Churchill, near Letterkenny, in aid of Donegal Hospice.
At the same time, a group of cyclists will make the 616km from Ireland’s most southerly point Mizen Head in Cork to the country’s most northerly Malin Head in Inishowen, in aid of Kerry Hospice.
James left Churchill to work on building sites in England as a young man and then resettled in Ballygeigue, near Tralee, in Kerry but “never forgot his Donegal” roots, revealed sister Ruth.
She told the Donegal News: “This has never been done before.
“James died of cancer last May, 2025. He was an amazing, kind, generous person who helped so many people in his lifetime.
“His father known as ‘Jim the Mason’ was a builder and a gifted stone mason. James trained and worked alongside his father and he quickly learned his trade.
“James never forgot his roots and returned to Churchill as often as he could. He started out on his own, working and building with natural stone.
“Throughout his life in Donegal, and especially in Kerry, he created many beautiful natural stone buildings.
“He even stoned the bow of a ship on which a 12ft statue of St Brendan the Navigator stands in Fenit near the port of Tralee.”
She added: “James wanted to do one more fundraiser and thought he’d have the time, but it was not to be for him. This is how the tractor run idea came about.
“Our old family tractor, a Davey Brown 780, lay in a shed for the last 30 years, only being driven when James was home.
“James always talked about getting it restored, but never got around to it. My husband Terence decided to get it restored and do this tractor run in his memory.”