The year 2022 will go down as one of the best years yet among showing enthusiasts. After a three-year hiatus, the summer of 2022 saw Ireland’s shows come back with a bang.
Sunshine brought the good times and what a feeling it was to pull on the white coat and flick the switch on the hairdryer and get back to showing again. Being on the end of a rope in the middle of a ring in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere somewhere in rural Ireland may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but for many it’s the highlight of their year.
Old friendships were rekindled and old rivalries were re-ignited with some great competitions taking place the length and breadth of the country.
The best cattle, sheep, horses, hens, duck eggs, wildflowers and turf all took centre stage in search of that coveted red rosette to take home. It was always going to be the way that exhibitors would gear up for shows again and there were some record entries in classes all over the country.
There was a little worry at the beginning of the year that people attending shows may have forgotten what they were like and if people would come back out again into public spaces after three years of Covid-19.
These worries soon lifted as the first few shows that took place in May 2022 saw record numbers through the gate and that set the scene for some very big numbers attending shows all over Ireland.
The big shows always stand out. Balmoral, Tullamore, Bonniconnlon and Tinahely are hugely successful days but for me it’s the smaller shows that really epitomise what rural Ireland is all about.
Tullow Show, Co Carlow: James McPadden’s Big Red champion beef breeding maiden heifer sponsored by ABP Waterford and ABP Slaney. From left: John Kelly (ABP Waterford), Eamonn Moulds (ABP Slaney) and Nicola McPadden.
Mullingar Show, Co Westmeath (ABOVE): Champion broodmare winner went to Mary and Michael Dooner, pictured with Valerie Davis (judge).
Trim Show, Co Meath (left): Jack Canty from Co Meath prepares to enter the ring with his Hereford heifer.
Longford Show:
Alicia Devlin Byrne riding The Kings Silver, winning The Frank
Kilkenny Memorial Working Hunter Championship 2022. Also pictured are judge Victoria Tueton and Tony Kilkenny.
Granard Show, Co Longford: From left: Minister Heather Humphreys; Turlough McGovern, chair, Granard Municipal District; Colm Markey, MEP; Micheal Carrigy, senator; and Colin Dalton, county councillor, with some young members of the Reynolds family.
Glenamaddy Show, Co Galway: Nicola and Gary Mulligan with their champion cow and calf.
Elphin Show, Co Roscommon: Fergal Flanagan with his Charolais cross heifer, which was the commercial and overall champion of Elphin Show, with the interbreed judges and Thomas Gormley, Elphin show committee.
Local voluntary committees put a huge amount of work into organising a show, not just on show day but in the 12 months before the annual show day takes place. They play a hugely important role in displaying all that is good about rural Ireland, livestock farming and the country way of life.
As more and more people go about their daily lives with no exposure to farming or food production, agricultural shows have the opportunity to bridge this gap and put farming and livestock production to the forefront to make sure people understand the true picture of Irish food production.
Shows have had to deal with huge cost increases since getting going again. Marquee hire and insurance are two of the biggest.
Minister Heather Humphries deserves credit for coming to the table with a fund of €700,000 for shows in 2022. This proved a vital lifeline for many smaller shows and hopefully the same level of funding can be achieved in 2023.
Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue also deserves credit for launching a new breeding heifer competition in 2022 which will have a prize fund of €50,000/year over the next five years.
The Department of Agriculture helps shows in an insurance rebate system which has been place for a number of years.
Ballygarvan Show, Co Cork: A hen gets ready for the big stage at Ballygarvan Show in Co Cork.
Dunmanway Show, Co Cork: Albert DeCogan with the Aberdeen Angus champion.
Oldcastle Show, Co Meath: Qualifier for the FBD/Irish Farmers Journal/ISA intermediate young stockperson competition at Oldcastle Show was Brodie Molloy, pictured with Catherine Gallagher, past president, ISA; and Ray Brady, current ISA president
Dunmanway Show, Co Cork: Ads4Tractors and W&M Kiely all-Ireland hogget ewe with Danny Lee McCarthy, judge Michael J. Horan and Margaret McCarthy.
Cork Summer Show: Coffey Luke Thunder ridden by Ann Smith, Tralee, Co Kerry, winner of the Connemara Working Hunter Style Derby with a prize fund of €1,000.
Clonmany Show, Co Donegal: Shane Giltinane, Ballymacave, Croagh, Co Limerick, with his all-Ireland baby beef heifer winner. From left: Gerard Noone, show secretary; Shane Giltinane; judge Marie McCormick; James Strain, Inishowen Co-op, sponsor, and Catherine Gallagher, former ISA president.
Clonmany Show, Co Donegal: The winning heifer in the breeder’s choice continental four- or five-star breeding heifer sponsored by the Department of Agriculture. From left: Gerard Noone, ISA and secretary Clonmany Show; Fergal Doherty; Marie McCormack, judge; Catherine Gallagher, former president, ISA and Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue.
Clogher Valley show: Winner in the dairy pairs competition was Conall Daly, Carrickmore, Co Tyrone. From left: Niamh Keane, Gordon Grey and Neville Leary, Glanbia, the Daly family, Mark Logan, judge and Mary Hackett, Clogher Valley Show.
CharlEville Show, Co Cork: Bryan and John O’Connor and family, Kanturk, with Cramar Atwood Cutel, winner of the pedigree Friesian cow class and Gary Jones, judge. Also included is Tim Broderick, dairy section of the show.
The Irish Shows Association, led by national secretary Jim Harrison, is the umbrella body for agricultural shows in Ireland and put a huge amount of work in behind the scenes.
Catherine Gallagher was the woman who was tasked with steering the ship as president of the ISA over the last two years, a difficult job in the face of Covid-19.
She told the Irish Farmers Journal: “All our shows across the country are run by teams of dedicated volunteers and they are an essential element to the smooth running of our shows.
“Each and every one of them are deserving of our acknowledgement and appreciation. It was an honour to lead the association for two years and I wish the current president Raymond Brady the very best of luck in his year as president in 2023.”
Castleblayney Show, Co Monaghan: Best pair of pedigree animals with owners Simone McCabe, Niall Maguire, Basil Bothwell (judge), Damian McDonald (IFA director general) and Jim Harrison (national secretary, ISA)
Carbery Show, Co Cork: Munster Bovine Cork county beef bull champion owned by the Stanley family, Bandon, Co Cork.
Barryroe Show, Co Cork: The O’Connell family with their prize-winning Simmentals at Barryroe Show in Co Cork.
Ballyshannon Show, Co Donegal: Commercial calf and non-pedigree animal of the show with (from left): Eugene Drummond, show committee and sponsor; Victor Barnet and Luke Barnet, Raphoe.
Ballivor Horse Show, Co Meath: Working hunter champion class winner Katie Byrne being presented with the Tara Harriers Hunt perpetual cup by Eugene O’Reilly, chair of Tara Harriers Hunt.
Balinasloe Show, Co Galway: From left – PJ Glynn, owner; Melissa Glynn, handler; and Thomas Flaherty, Ballinasloe show committee.
Then Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Minister for Agriculture Charlie and Minister of state Pippa Hackett walk through Tullamore Show, stopping off at the farmers Journal stand before heading to the parade of champions. \ Philip Doyle
Then Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Minister for Agriculture Charlie and Minister of state Pippa Hackett walk through Tullamore Show, stopping off at the farmers Journal stand before heading to the parade of champions. \ Philip Doyle
Kate Walsh at Tullamore Show 2022.\ Philip doyle
Ice cream cones were very popular at Tullamore Show. \ Donal O'Leary
Shows are a huge part of what we do in the Irish Farmers Journal. It’s not possible to cover every single show in the country but we did our best to cover as many as possible.
Myself and Shanon Kinahan are already making plans for our 2023 show coverage and we look forward to meeting both exhibitors and show attendees on the 2023 circuit. If a show committee wants to get in touch with us, email awoods@farmersjournal.ie or skinahan@farmersjournal.ie.
May I take this opportunity to wish all our readers in the pedigree section a happy and healthy 2023.