National Ploughing Championships has a bright future – NPA president

Tullamore man Michael Mahon is hoping that the 2025 National Ploughing Championships make a return to his home county of Offaly. Mahon is the president of the National Ploughing Association (NPA) and is looking forward to another year in Laois.

He believes the future is bright for the National Ploughing Championships and feels the biggest trouble with the event is trying to get enough of land to run it.

“To run the Ploughing match, you’d want 700ac to 800ac between car parks, land ploughing plots and ground area,” he explained to the Irish Farmers Journal.

He feels the youth are very enthusiastic about getting into ploughing but said that unless they have a helper to guide them, they won’t go anywhere.

“It’s nearly the same as the GAA. If they won’t train and don’t get support and guidance, they will go downhill. Every county runs a novice match.

“There are senior, intermediate and junior competitions. The weaker counties are in the junior, the middle counties are intermediate and stronger counties like Wexford and Cork are in the senior novice.

“The winner [of each competition] will receive between €1,500 and €2,000 to put towards a reversible plough,” Michael added.

Michael has a lot of history in ploughing himself.

“My father ploughed with horses and then I started to get into it and began entering competitions. I came second in the junior all-Ireland in 1985 and competed most years until my two sons and daughter took over.

“My son Brian ploughed in two or three European championships and he won the Five Nations Ploughing Challenge twice,” he said.

Michael has been on the NPA committee for a number of years and was elected president at the most recent AGM.

He held the role of chair of the association for nine years prior to being elected president and he believes he is the only Irish man to have chaired two World Ploughing Contests.

Competitors

The European Vintage Ploughing Championships takes place in Ratheniska this year and Michael outlined how 24 or 25 competitors from around the world will take part in the championships.

“They are on a time limit and will get so long to plough the plot.

“John Whelan of Co Wexford, who has been the world champion, and Liam O’Driscoll from Co Cork will be representing us,” he added.

Mahon outlined the huge role Anna May McHugh plays with the organising of the championships. “You’d want four pairs of shoes to fill Anna May’s shoes,” he said.