It was a fresh January day, and they came from every corner of Ireland.

Athlone is close to the centre of the country, which means it’s equidistant from most places. However, it’s a long schlep from Kerry or Donegal.

There were men and women who left home on buses and in cars in the dead of night to get to Athlone for 9am. The tractors must have been on the go since suppertime Friday.

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There were hundreds and hundreds of tractors – only drones could fully capture the scenes.

Organisers claimed the attendance reached 20,000, with thousands never entering the TUS Midlands campus.

There were no less than two dozen speakers, and they all stayed within their limited speaking time. Some tractors were still miles away as they started.

While Ciarán Mullooly was front and centre all day, it was a Michael Fitzmaurice operation.

All the stewards at the arena were wearing Glinsk hi-viz vests ­– some even thought that Glenisk were sponsoring the event.

Farm organisations of every hue and political parties from across the spectrum mingled and chatted all day long.

A large contingent of IFA members set out on foot from about a mile from the venue.

Rounding a turn on the road, they saw the Beef Plan Movement, complete with their coffin, about 50 metres in front of them.

A debate took place, whether to fall back or attempt an overtake manoeuvre, it felt like a pit lane debate at an F1 race.

The word was given, “accelerate”, and suddenly Francie Gorman and co resembled a bunch of Olympic walkers, picking up the pace.

As they caught up with and passed out Eamon Corley and co, it was like that moment when the peloton in the Tour de France catches a breakaway group.

The message was simple ­–Mercosur is unfair to farmers, as it levels the playing pitch for one team only.

Fittingly, it all ended with a rousing rendition of Ireland’s Call, led by Michael Fitzmaurice, reclaiming Phil Coulter’s rugby anthem from the denizens of D4 once and for all.

The big Galwayman dwarfed Ken O’Flynn and Richard O’Donoghue as they linked arms on the podium.

It resembled that famous image of Mick Galwey holding debutantes Peter Stringer and Ronan O’Gara in his grasp in Murrayfield in 2000.

Shoulder to shoulder, what a great way to end what was a great day.