It’s all systems go in Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly ahead of Day One of the 2016 National Ploughing Championships.
The site is a hive of activity with organisers, exhibitors and tradespeople putting the finishing touches to trade stands and tents.
While the site is busy at the moment with people coming and going, it is not closed contrary to earlier reports.
At this year’s event there will be over 1,500 exhibits and hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on Tullamore for the 85th National Ploughing Championships.
The annual go-to-event for many Irish people both from farming and non-farming backgrounds is sure to have something for every visitor who makes the trip to Europe’s largest outdoor exhibition and agricultural trade show.
Looking at the Ploughing itself, fresh from a successful World Ploughing Championships in York, England, both Eamonn Tracey and John Whelan will take to the fields of Screggan as part of the National Championships.
Tracey secured second place in the conventional class, while the Co. Wexford native, Whelan, came third in the reversible category in the World Championships earlier this month.
Both men had previously been winners in their respective classes on the world stage in previous years.
Speaking at the launch of the Ploughing earlier this month, Managing Director, Anna May McHugh said that the Ploughing Championships not only provides a national stage for showcasing all things agricultural, but also brings people together from all sectors of Irish society both rural and urban.
“It is great to see the phenomenal interest in [the event] with countries such as Australia, France, UK, Netherlands, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Germany, Canada and Belgium exhibiting,” McHugh said.
“With 281,000 visitors attending last year and over 1,500 stands, the Ploughing Championships is one of the market leading Agriculture Trade Fairs worldwide,” she said.
The National Ploughing Championships get underway from tomorrow, September 20 until Thursday, September 23 in Screggan, Tullamore.
