Longford Show is ‘a great opportunity for us in Killoe to showcase what we have'

The Longford Agricultural Show has grown to be the 'biggest event in the county' in recent years and hopes are high that Sunday will be another hugely successful day that lives long in the memory.

The show, a must attend event of Longford's cultural calendar and a hugely popular, fun-filled day out for families, takes place on July 6.

Read more: Longford Show brings urban and rural life together for a wonderful spectacle

The popular annual event, which is one of the oldest continuous rural gatherings in Ireland, returns to the lands of Gerry Hagan at Treanlawn, Killoe for the third year in a row.

"It's grown to be the biggest event in the county in recent years," he said.

"Since it arrived here in Enybegs two years ago it has been a success.

"The show committee and everybody that attends the show has come forward and played their part and it's become a great event here and it's very accessible here."

The well-known suckler farmer and county councillor, who has 50 acres of land in Treanlawn, said it has been an honour to host the event for the past two years and he is looking forward to it.

More than 6,000 people, from babies and toddlers up to older retirees, attended and enjoyed the Longford Agricultural Show last year and Gerry is hopeful a similarly large crowd will be there on Sunday.

"It's a wonderful event and it's become a wonderful event here in Killoe in the last three years and hopefully this year it'll be no different.

"I'm deeply rooted in the farming community and I love farming.

"And it's a great opportunity for us in Killoe to showcase what we have and it's a great family event."
Gerry stated all they need is the weather.

"If the sun shines high there should be large crowds in attendance like last year and the previous year," he added.

Gerry said the experience of hosting the show the past two years has been fantastic and there has been no significant learnings or changes made this year apart from maybe a minor tweak.

"The show committee provided a lot more children's type entertainment last year and that was very successful," he added.

Asked about the highlight of the show in recent years for him, Gerry described it as an "all-encompassing" show.

"There is something for everybody and it's now like a cultural show.

"There is children's entertainment, dog shows, cattle exhibitions, sheep, lots of equestrian competitions and show jumping as well and there is also the music and entertainment end of it," he added.

Gerry said last year there was a tug-of-war event, which proved to be a big attraction with teams travelling from Kerry and Monaghan.

"They came from all over the country to compete against one another," he added.

Gerry said he has made some minor adjustments to his farming methods, but it has been well worth it to host such a prestigious event for a third successive year.

"I suppose it does impact on the farm and the silage cutting is put back over four weeks as a result of hosting the show, but there's no major impact."

Gerry said this year will be tinged with sadness as his beloved mother Rose sadly passed away recently in May.

He said she was proud to see such a prestigious event being held on their farm.

"There is a lot of sadness as my late mother Rose passed away about six weeks ago.

"She came down from Dublin where she was living for the show for the last two years, and she had the most enjoyable time on both occasions, and about eight weeks ago she was speaking to me and actually looking forward to this year's show."

Gerry, who was asked how important having good weather on the day is, responded, "Hopefully my mother will sort that out from above."

Gerry said he really appreciates the support he gets from the local community and the large number of dedicated people who volunteer to help out with the successful running of the show.

"The Killoe community is a very proud community here and everybody rows in behind us and helps out.

"A big compliment to everybody who helps out in the stewarding and volunteering in any capacity and running of the show.

"Also, the show committee themselves is quite a small committee but they are very hardworking and JJ Farrell and the committee do trojan work year on year and in the weeks running up to the show and the weeks after it."

PICTURES: The word up your Streete! Longford vintage enthusiasts flock to festival

Gerry also commended his neighbours William Quinn and Mark McGoldrick for their help and assistance with car parking.
He stated there has been no talks yet about the possibility of hosting the event for a fourth year.

"No, we decided it year by year. I get questions around this every year and we have to see how it has gone. But, yeah, I never say never," he concluded.