The loss of the Ploughing had become inevitable, but it is still a hammer blow to everyone in farming.
Last year’s event in blistering sunshine left people eager to return to Ballon, but the only people heading there in September will be the competitors and officials.
It was, of course, the right decision, as explained by National Ploughing Association (NPA) managing director Anna May McHugh.
You just couldn’t have 300,000 people coming together in September, it wouldn’t be safe
“When COVID-19 first struck we were thinking, well, we’ll see, sure the Ploughing is way down the road. Way down the road came pretty quickly,” she says. “One life would not be worth it. That’s the way I would look at it and that was the feeling of our executive too.
“You just couldn’t have 300,000 people coming together in September, it wouldn’t be safe. It would also be impossible to maintain social distancing while preparing the site, and our 1,700 exhibitors would face the same problems preparing their stands, which of course involves a lot of work on their part.”
The hope is that the ploughing competition itself will take place at the site in Fenagh, Co Carlow. “We will be reviewing the possibility of holding the ploughing competition. It’s still an important event, all the more so as we will be selecting the team to take part in the 2021 World Championships on home turf.”
Eamonn White from Dublin competing at the 2019 Ploughing. \ Donal O'Leary
The 2020 event, scheduled for Russia this August, has also been postponed, and is now scheduled for June 2021. But Anna May doesn’t believe that will affect the Irish event in any way. “We are confident the 2021 event in Ireland will attract a large international audience as well as our loyal Irish supporters. In fact, one of the notable more recent innovations at the national championships has been our link-up with Enterprise Ireland which sees international vistors coming to look at Irish machinery exhibits.”
Detailed plan
Does the cancellation of the 2020 event allow the NPA a long lead-in to the world event? “We have already well started on the world event. We would have had to have a detailed plan to present in Russia, including confirmation of the site, so we have been working away on it.”
The Ploughing Championships have been cancelled once before. “The only time it happened before was in 2001 when we cancelled due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak. Then, we returned to Ballacolla the following year, and the venue originally chosen for 2002 (Ballinabrackey Co Meath) hosted it in 2003, so it worked out for everyone in the end.”
The large crowd on day two of the 2019 Ploughing at Fenagh, Co Carlow. \ Donal O'Leary
Last year’s event in Fenagh was an outstanding success by any standards, with record crowds and blistering weather. The same venue was preparing for a repeat this September. “Everything went right last year,” says Anna May. “The venue worked well, the traffic flowed. The organisation had to go into it, but the weather was absolutely fantastic for young and old, and that helped to make the event such a success. Of course it’s a huge disappointment to hundreds of exhibitors. It’s wonderful to say that we have huge support from our exhibitors, many of whom are expressing a [desire for a] link-up with this year’s event, perhaps with virtual exhibitions. That is heartening.”
Stands at Ploughing 2019.
The economic loss to the region is estimated at around €45m, but Anna May has particular sympathy for the local voluntary organisations that gain from the Ploughing. “Local GAA clubs and soccer clubs get involved, with members car parking and so on. We pay all the money for that help directly to to the local clubs. We had 21 clubs helping at last year’s event. We’ll be working towards something online for people to follow the Ploughing, and for exhibitors to be involved in a virtual way.”
We won’t select the venue for 2021 for a while, but Carlow is certainly in the running, along with potential venues in Laois and Kildare.
World Ploughing Championships
The disappointment of losing the 2020 National Ploughing Championships, at least as an event open to the general public, is tempered with the knowledge that 2021 will see a bumper event, with the world ploughing championships returning to Ireland for the first time since 2006.
Anna May McHugh unveiling a monument to commemorate the 1954 Killarney event with Hugh Barr, aged 93, from Coleraine, who won the world title that year. \ Valerie O'Sullivan
In all, this will be the sixth time we host the world ploughing championships, with the second world event held in Killarney in 1954, followed by two events in Wellingtonbridge in Co Wexford in 1973 and 1981. Oak Park in Carlow hosted the world’s finest plough men and women in 1996, and 2006 saw it move to the other side of Carlow town, to Bennekerry.
World Ploughing Championships 2018 in Kirchentellinsfurt, Germany. \ Kuratorium Weltpflügen 2018 e.V.
The World Ploughing Championships has also been held in Northern Ireland on three occasions, in 1959, 1991, and 2006, so this will be the ninth time for the prestigious event to be held on the island.
Read more
Summer without shows will have ‘colossal’ impact on economy
Pedigree breeders lose shop window with cancellation of Balmoral Show
The loss of the Ploughing had become inevitable, but it is still a hammer blow to everyone in farming.
Last year’s event in blistering sunshine left people eager to return to Ballon, but the only people heading there in September will be the competitors and officials.
It was, of course, the right decision, as explained by National Ploughing Association (NPA) managing director Anna May McHugh.
You just couldn’t have 300,000 people coming together in September, it wouldn’t be safe
“When COVID-19 first struck we were thinking, well, we’ll see, sure the Ploughing is way down the road. Way down the road came pretty quickly,” she says. “One life would not be worth it. That’s the way I would look at it and that was the feeling of our executive too.
“You just couldn’t have 300,000 people coming together in September, it wouldn’t be safe. It would also be impossible to maintain social distancing while preparing the site, and our 1,700 exhibitors would face the same problems preparing their stands, which of course involves a lot of work on their part.”
The hope is that the ploughing competition itself will take place at the site in Fenagh, Co Carlow. “We will be reviewing the possibility of holding the ploughing competition. It’s still an important event, all the more so as we will be selecting the team to take part in the 2021 World Championships on home turf.”
Eamonn White from Dublin competing at the 2019 Ploughing. \ Donal O'Leary
The 2020 event, scheduled for Russia this August, has also been postponed, and is now scheduled for June 2021. But Anna May doesn’t believe that will affect the Irish event in any way. “We are confident the 2021 event in Ireland will attract a large international audience as well as our loyal Irish supporters. In fact, one of the notable more recent innovations at the national championships has been our link-up with Enterprise Ireland which sees international vistors coming to look at Irish machinery exhibits.”
Detailed plan
Does the cancellation of the 2020 event allow the NPA a long lead-in to the world event? “We have already well started on the world event. We would have had to have a detailed plan to present in Russia, including confirmation of the site, so we have been working away on it.”
The Ploughing Championships have been cancelled once before. “The only time it happened before was in 2001 when we cancelled due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak. Then, we returned to Ballacolla the following year, and the venue originally chosen for 2002 (Ballinabrackey Co Meath) hosted it in 2003, so it worked out for everyone in the end.”
The large crowd on day two of the 2019 Ploughing at Fenagh, Co Carlow. \ Donal O'Leary
Last year’s event in Fenagh was an outstanding success by any standards, with record crowds and blistering weather. The same venue was preparing for a repeat this September. “Everything went right last year,” says Anna May. “The venue worked well, the traffic flowed. The organisation had to go into it, but the weather was absolutely fantastic for young and old, and that helped to make the event such a success. Of course it’s a huge disappointment to hundreds of exhibitors. It’s wonderful to say that we have huge support from our exhibitors, many of whom are expressing a [desire for a] link-up with this year’s event, perhaps with virtual exhibitions. That is heartening.”
Stands at Ploughing 2019.
The economic loss to the region is estimated at around €45m, but Anna May has particular sympathy for the local voluntary organisations that gain from the Ploughing. “Local GAA clubs and soccer clubs get involved, with members car parking and so on. We pay all the money for that help directly to to the local clubs. We had 21 clubs helping at last year’s event. We’ll be working towards something online for people to follow the Ploughing, and for exhibitors to be involved in a virtual way.”
We won’t select the venue for 2021 for a while, but Carlow is certainly in the running, along with potential venues in Laois and Kildare.
World Ploughing Championships
The disappointment of losing the 2020 National Ploughing Championships, at least as an event open to the general public, is tempered with the knowledge that 2021 will see a bumper event, with the world ploughing championships returning to Ireland for the first time since 2006.
Anna May McHugh unveiling a monument to commemorate the 1954 Killarney event with Hugh Barr, aged 93, from Coleraine, who won the world title that year. \ Valerie O'Sullivan
In all, this will be the sixth time we host the world ploughing championships, with the second world event held in Killarney in 1954, followed by two events in Wellingtonbridge in Co Wexford in 1973 and 1981. Oak Park in Carlow hosted the world’s finest plough men and women in 1996, and 2006 saw it move to the other side of Carlow town, to Bennekerry.
World Ploughing Championships 2018 in Kirchentellinsfurt, Germany. \ Kuratorium Weltpflügen 2018 e.V.
The World Ploughing Championships has also been held in Northern Ireland on three occasions, in 1959, 1991, and 2006, so this will be the ninth time for the prestigious event to be held on the island.
Read more
Summer without shows will have ‘colossal’ impact on economy
Pedigree breeders lose shop window with cancellation of Balmoral Show
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: