Over €2,500 in prize money for exciting Granard SpeedShear at The Bay Horse

The Bay Horse, Granard is the venue for the much anticipated Granard SpeedShear event on Saturday, July 18 and promoting the SpeedShear during the recent Granard Agricultural Show launch were Mickey Kelly, Show Secretary Hazel McVeigh, Louise Kelly and Show Chairperson Gerry Tully | Picture: Shelley Corcoran

placeholder image — The Bay Horse, Granard is the venue for the much anticipated Granard SpeedShear event on Saturday, July 18 and promoting the SpeedShear during the recent Granard Agricultural Show launch were Mickey Kelly, Show Secretary Hazel McVeigh, Louise Kelly and Show Chairperson Gerry Tully | Picture: Shelley Corcoran

In previous years the popular Longford event raised €8,819.22 for the Gavin Glynn Foundation, and €7,330 the previous year for The Make A Wish Foundation

The countdown is very much on to Granard SpeedShear, a very popular Longford event which raises much-needed funds for charity.

Around forty competitors will take part, with 100 or so sheep expected to be sheared on the day.

Granard SpeedShear will take place on Saturday, July 18 at The Bay Horse, Granard.

Following the success of last year’s event, which raised €8,819.22 for the Gavin Glynn Foundation, and €7,330 the previous year for The Make A Wish Foundation, the organisers are hoping to build on that success and make this year’s event even bigger and better.

This year, all proceeds raised will go towards supporting Granard Agricultural Show.

With their plans to buy land to host the show in Granard well underway, Louise Kelly said they were delighted to be able to provide support for this venture which should safeguard the future of the Granard Agricultural Show for many years to come.

Louise said the agricultural show has been an important part of the local community for generations, and they are delighted to be able to support its future by fundraising for it.

The organising committee has almost everything organised and are just putting together the final preparations in the final days before the event.

“Everything is pretty much in place. We have got a lot of help and support from the local community and people from the Granard Agricultural Show have been helping us out as well,” Louise explained.

The day will feature competitive sheep shearing across Junior, Senior, Open, Ladies and Old-Timers classes, with over €2,500 in prize money on offer.

There will also be a family day out atmosphere with BBQ, live music, and the newly introduced Best Dressed Little Farmer competition for children as well as a mock shearing competition with Teddys.

The mock shearing event should be a very entertaining one with the winner getting a winning rosette for good measure!

Live entertainment on the night will be provided by DJ Duggy B, Rough & Ready and Sugar & Spice.

The event dovetails nicely with the Granard Agricultural Show, which finishes up around 4pm, so many attending that event can come along and unwind at the Granard Sheepshear event later.

“Granard Agricultural Show brings a great crowd to the town and we hope to see many of them attending our event afterwards,” Louise said.

“Our event is organised entirely through community support, with volunteers, local businesses, competitors and sponsors all playing a part in making it happen. We hope it will be a great day out for families, farming enthusiasts and the wider community while raising valuable funds for a worthwhile local cause,” she added.

Louise said Granard SheepShear ‘wouldn’t be possible without the support of the local community and our sponsors’.

While the weather forecast originally showed hot weather around the time of the Granard SheepShear, Louise says they are prepared for every eventuality and the uncertainty of Irish weather.