South Longford family honoured to host second successive Longford Ploughing Championships

The final preparations are being put in place for the 90th County Longford Ploughing Championships with anticipation building ahead of the popular annual event for ploughing enthusiasts and families seeking a fun-filled day out.

Michael and Claire Delaney will host the flagship event on his farm in Drinan, Ballymahon this Sunday, March 22.

The main sponsor for this year's ploughing championships is O’Haire’s Concert Coaches, which provided great support last year by supplying buses that brought lots of people from the town to the site.

Longford ploughing enthusiasts will gather for the qualification event that will allow them to represent County Longford in the 95th National Ploughing Championship in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly from September 15 to 17.

Leading ploughmen from Longford and surrounding counties will converge on Drinan to show off their skills at turning the perfect sod.

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There are a range of classes in which the competitors will face off against each other including Farmerette, Vintage Ploughing and Macra Class and U21 Class.

Among the many attractions expected to bring a large attendance into the area Senior Tractor Class, the popular Horse Ploughing Class, loy digging and an impressive turnout of vintage tractors will join the local ploughing heroes.

Michael Delaney and his family, who are hosting the County Longford Ploughing Championships on his beef farm for the second successive year and he said they were pleased by how the event went last year and they are happy to host again.

"It was a nice having the event and when the committee asked if we would be able to go again, we had a good experience last year with them and it was very professionally ran and the weather was great on the day so it all helped and it made making the decision a little bit easier to go ahead again."

Michael said it was a fantastic experience for their family hosting last year and the local community and farming community from across the county attended in large numbers.

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Michael and Claire have a three and a half year-old daughter and a little boy who is just under 18-months.

"It was a lovely honour to host the event last year and there are lots of good memories," he added.

Michael said there has been a lot of rain in recent weeks, but he is hopeful some dry weather this week will ensure that the land is in good condition.

"The weather has been very bad since the start of the year so hopefully it will be similar to last year weather-wise."

In terms of the layout of the event and the competitions and categories the Drinan man expects it will be 'much the same format as last year'.

Along with Michael's experience of hosting last year, he has attended a number of Longford Ploughing Championships over the years and he has also travelled to the National Ploughing Championship on several occasions.

Michael's grandfather James Delaney was the first chairman of Ballymahon Mart and the family are steeped in agriculture.

His dad Jimmy was director and his uncle Michael was chairman as well and the family have been heavily involved in the agri-sector for many years.

The very first County Longford Ploughing match was hosted by John Roche, Ballymahon on Tuesday, March 12, 1933.

What started as a simple horse ploughing competition has now grown into an exciting festival of cultivation, music and family entertainment.