Longford Ploughing Championship enjoys ‘one of the bigger attendances’

Blue skies and smiling faces were the order of the day in Bunlahy on Sunday as the organisers of the Longford Ploughing Championship finally got to stage their competition.

After two false dawns the weather gods finally relented, and rewarded the patients of the tillers of the soil by affording them conditions that could not have been any more perfect.

The day presented an exciting programme of family entertainment and fun activities to an event that attracted thousands of visitors.

Longford's annual ploughing shindig is one of the top agricultural gatherings in the country. With over 90 years of tradition the Longford Ploughing Championship has a continuous documented history.

Although the primary draw was the contests that saw Longford ploughing enthusiasts gathering for the qualification event that allows the winner to represent County Longford in the 93rd National Ploughing Championship in Ratheniska, Co Laois, scheduled for September 17-19, there was a lot more to the day.

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Trade stands, music, dance, family fun and The Queen of the Plough guild a day with so much to offer.

The location of this year's gathering held a special significance as the last ploughing matches held in Bunlahy were in 1958 and 1959, 65 years ago.

The range of classes in which the competitors faced off included: Farmerette, Vintage Ploughing and Macra Class and U21 Class. Spectators also enjoyed the Senior Tractor Class, the popular Horse Ploughing Class, and the loy digging.

As is usually the case there was an impressive turnout of vintage tractors and machines.,

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On Monday afternoon Longford Ploughing Association PRO, Luke Casey, was in wind down mode after a hectic weekend.

He said any weather worries were dispelled by Sunday morning: “We got a good dry start,” Luke said, “We had a good turn out on site early. It was sunny, but for some reason a cloud passed over us about a quarter past three, but they just vanished in about 15 minutes. We had a great crowd.”

In the days preceding the gathering the waterlogged fields across the country were dried by the fine weather. This left ground conditions without fault for ploughing.

“Conditions were perfect right across the site,” Luke said, “The car park conditions were ideal. Ploughing conditions were good. There was one small pool of surface water on the whole site. We just put a bit of tape around it, but you'll have a little problem on every lawn, no matter where you go, so really you could say it was a hundred percent.”

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The local Ploughing Association PRO spoke of the diverse programme: “We had lots going on, there was great craic on the dance floor. Sina Theil, Ireland's number one video music artist, proved to be a great entertainer. She was at home on a tractor as well, so that worked out great.

“A&C country jiving was very popular, and we had two local performers win the jiving contest. The music of Peter Costello and Aisling Rynn was well received.”

Other features of the day included the dog show, Corbally mobile fun farm, Farmer Phil, thefarmhouse.ie, Knights & Conquests Heritage Centre, Heartlands Orchard, Mastek - Agri Machinery & Innovation and the Most Appropriately Dressed Lady and Gent award. This year's Queen of the Plough was Cynthia Geelan, who reclaimed the crown she won last year.

For Luke the response of the competition entrants was the highlight of the day: “We had over 50 ploughmen booked in. Christy Carton from Westmeath, he was the champion last year, he's the champion for the second year in a row. He's from the Kilbeggan area in Westmeath. Sean Monaghan took the title of Longford's champion ploughman.”

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Niall and Paul Belton hosted the flagship event on their farm in Bunlahy.

Luke was full of praise for the venue: “It's an excellent location. The field was perfect, it's a good big 60 acre field and the plots were even across the field, so everybody got a fair chance. The internal farm roadway in the Belton farm, made it an ideal location for driving, unloading machinery, and ploughing. It's a good safe place and an ideal spot for a ploughing competition.

“I have to give full compliments to the Belton family for all the work they did in preparing the site and surfacing the roadways in the appropriate areas and having everything firm and proper for the day.”

Mr Casey said the public appetite for the day was not diminished by the previous cancellations: “We had a huge crowd, mostly rural people who understand the vagaries of dealing with the weather. There was a queue of cars on the internal farm roadway approaching the car park, it was a steady flow and I would say one of the bigger attendances we've had in many years.”

Luke concluded by thanking the main sponsor for the day, Midland Agri Consultants, Granard.

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