Ex-trucker Shane’s remarkable world-record-breaking exploits continue 

22/04/2025

County Monaghan man Shane McLaughlin has already broken three successive Guinness World Records for the heaviest vehicle pulled by a Paralympian and the former trucker was in the States recently to attempt a truly remarkable feat – to pull a 290-tonne aircraft! 

There’s no two ways about it: Shane McLaughlin is a truly incredible man! The Clones native, who had his left leg amputated below the knee a dozen years ago and now walks with a spring-loaded prosthetic, holds three back-to-back World Records for the heaviest truck pulled by an amputee. 

In Dublin last May, the 53-year-old pulled an 18-tonne 45-ft truck 25 metres to set a new world record. Not content with this, the truck fanatic from County Monaghan followed up by pulling a 20-tonne lorry in Scotland in August, and then a 25-tonne lorry in Cavan in October. 

Not a man to do things by halves, Shane set his sights on a feat that would represent a remarkable display of power as he headed to West Virginia in the United States in March to pull a 290-tonne aircraft. 

Shane McLaughlin has been a Paralympic Athlete for six years and has competed across Ireland and the world in multiple competitions. He is gathering funds to help him achieve the goal of pulling a 290 tonne C17 cargo plane a distance of ten metres. 

By bringing awareness to vehicle pulling for amputees, he aims to show that the terrible ordeals that each of the amputees goes through can be overcome, to achieve unbelievable feats. “I hope inspire other amputees to overcome the challenges they may face in life,” he comments. 

Shane, who worked extensively as a truck driver nationwide and has never lost his deep love of all things trucking, suffered catastrophic injuries to his left leg in a farm-related accident in 2001, and after 78 operations opted to undergo amputation at Dublin’s St James’ Hospital in 2012. 

“As an ex-truckie, I really miss driving them,” he told Irish Trucker. “So I decided to start pulling them instead! I drove lorries for up to ten years, in Ireland and the UK. My first job many moons ago was driving from Galway to Cork daily for a computer factory and I also worked for various other outfits, including a knackery and an operator close to me here, in Scotstown. Like most people, Scania is my favourite truck and I also drove DAF as well.” 

True to form, Shane managed to do some driving after his life-changing accident but eventually had to give up work. He’s now a single parent to nine-year-old daughter, Jessica – his biggest inspiration! 

“Between ’01 and ’12, I had 78 operations and couldn’t take it anymore. The 79th was the one where I decided to take it off. I miss lorries badly and it was only on March 17th this year [2024] that I decided to pull them. I was watching strongmen pulling them on the television with Jessica. Able-bodied men were doing it and I said ‘I can do that, let’s go, let’s find some lorries to pull…” 

The next day, Shane pulled a 15-tonne cattle lorry. He kept going and eventually decided to attempt a world-record pull. “The first one, 18-tonne, was in McArdle Skeath’s yard in Dublin 15. I got the Guinness World Record but it was never about me. This was to raise awareness for amputees around the world and has nothing to do with me. 

“I got the certificate and said ‘I can’t stop now’. I did 20-tonne in Knockhill, Dunfermline, Scotland on August 24th and then did 25-tonne – which was actually almost 25.5-tonne – in Cavan in October,” notes the man who also participates in countless charity truck pulls at various events both across Ireland and internationally. 

Shane learned that only five men in the world have pulled a 44-tonne aircraft so decided he’d pull a 48-tonne one. After some research, however, he realised that the aircraft-pulling world record for an able-bodied person is 280-tonne so he set his target for a 290-tonne aircraft pull in America. Truly incomprehensible figures… 

These pulls are incredibly demanding. “It’s a lot of strain for a 53-yer-old man with only one leg,” says Shane matter-of-factly. “To go from the initial plan of 48-tonne up to 290 is an enormous leap and you have to be both physically and mentally strong to do it. But I’ll most definitely achieve it because this is for amputees around the world and for my daughter. 

“The reason why I’m going to the States for this one is because I want to get this [truck-pulling] into the 2028 Summer Paralympic Games which are going to be held in Los Angeles. Each city that hosts the Paralympics can introduce two new sports and I’m convinced that when the Americans see a man coming over from Ireland to set a new world record then they are definitely going to want to add truck pulling.” 

Word is spreading fast of Shane’s astonishing exploits. He has been invited out to Dubai to put on a performance in April / May and has also been invited back to Mondello Park to do another pull at Full of the Pipe 2025. As for the source of his incredible strength, the inspirational trucking aficionado reveals: 

“The upper body strength comes from ten years of doing Tug o’ War when I was in my teens. That was a long time ago but still stands to me. After that, it’s just pure ignorance because I don’t like failure. I’ll rest the body completely before the States because I’ve been at this non-stop since March. 

“Nothing else will be touched until I get to America and I will be in the frame of mind to get in there and get it done in 25 seconds,” he concludes. “It’s going to be done and dusted in a matter of seconds. I pull around a metre a second so it’ll all be over in 25-30 seconds. When I’m in the middle of it, I’ll probably be thinking ‘is there anything else my body is fit for after this’ and I think there probably is…”