Farming
Time to plough
THERE’S a waft of summer in the air and this Sunday ploughmen and women from all over the county – and further afield too – will be making their way to Daly’s farm in Aughrim for the County Championships.
The event was originally due to take place in early March but a combination of bad weather and unsuitable ground conditions led to it being put back to the first Sunday in May.
It might be a considered a tad late to be breaking the soil but with the weather forecast fairly good for the weekend, the organisers are looking forward to a huge turnout.
This is the 82nd year of the Galway Ploughing Championships with the event used to select the men and women to represent in the national contest next September – stiff competition is expected in all classes.
The National Ploughing Championships are now one of the biggest outdoor events in the European agricultural calendar, regularly attracting crowds approaching the 200,000 mark – the event is actually too big to be staged at a Galway venue.
Chairman of the Galway Ploughing Association, Tom Fahey, told the Farming Tribune that over recent years, they had looked at many possible sites in Galway but they just didn’t the parcel of land big enough – around the 600 acres mark – to host the event.
He said that Galway had hosted the National Championships in 1934, 1963 (both Athenry) and in 1948 (Balllinasloe), but pointed out that the national event now required a huge site.
For the moment, he is looking forward to Sunday’s event to be held on the farm of the late Sean Daly – with his wife Aileen and children now heavily involved in the Galway showpiece for the ploughmen.
“It should be a lovely day out for everyone. There are a lot of different competitions with the contractors’ category proving to be very popular.
“However there is a lot more to the day than that. We’ll be having around 20 trade stands at the event while the vintage display always proves very popular. There’s plenty of stuff for the children too, so it should be a great family day out for everyone,” said Tom Fahey.
Well known North Tipperary ploughman, 80-year-old John Slattery, will also be there on the day and ploughing a furrow too, as straight as any of the ‘young guns’.
PRO for the event, Eamonn Burke, said that the day should attract a large crowd of both competitors and spectators.
“It’s always a nice family day out and we’d like to extend an invitation to anyone interested in the great outdoors to come along and enjoy a great day out,” said Eamonn Burke.
The action starts at 12 noon and goes on into the late afternoon.