Politicians plough into huge crowd at contest

IT was an occasion when the politicians left the plinth of parliament to plod the ploughing fields of Carlow on the second day of the national and world ploughing championships in Grangeford, Tullow, yesterday.

Party leaders Enda Kenny of Fine Gael, Pat Rabbitte of Labour and the Greens’ Trevor Sargent, pressed the flesh with the thousands of people thronging the 600-acre site in windy but generally dry conditions.

Rural Affairs Minister Eamon Ó Cuiv and Forestry Minister Mary Wallace had full lists of engagements.

Media scrums formed around Mr Kenny and Mr Rabbitte, mostly enquiring about the plight of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. But other questions were also posed.

Mr Kenny, asked what he thought of the ploughing, said despite the muck, following the heavy rain on opening day, there was a great air of confidence and energy about the occasion. “Ploughing championships are an opportunity to see a different Ireland,” he said.

Crowds meanwhile flocked to the LEADER craft and food villages at Grangeford. Thirty-four gourmet stands are located in the food village while the crafts village boasts 54 stands.

Irish LEADER Network chairman Tom O’Donnell said it was evidence of a new and growing rural economy.

“In the context of the enormous changes in agriculture, the programme has proven itself to be a powerful force in enabling rural people to manage and master these changes,” he said.

Elsewhere, the Green Party held a workshop on increasing farm incomes and meeting consumer needs.

Trevor Sargent said most stalls at so-called farmers’ markets belong to traders with not a farmer in sight. “Farmers’ markets have become, in some areas, a type of travelling circus,” he said.

President Mary McAleese caught the spirit of the event when she officially opened the world contest, which takes place today and tomorrow.

She said that each year the ploughing championships captivate Irish people.

“Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, said the plough is to the farmer what the wand is to the sorcerer. I am sure you wish farming was as easy as waving a wand.

“We know it is not and that it calls for the deepest level of commitment, the longest hours and a love of this vocation which is the very heart of our country; and our people,” she said.