All hands to the plough as Cork wins top prizes at championships

THE large attendance from West Cork at this week’s National Ploughing Championships was thrilled with the performance of its team in the 21 ploughing competitions at the centre of the event.

Their five All-Ireland wins, plus two wins for East Cork, were unmatched by any other county.

Eamon Tracey’s win in the prestigious senior conventional test match was one of three for Co Carlow.

There were senior wins for Padraig Brandon, Laois, in the under-28 event, and for Sean Tracey, Carlow, in the under-21 event.

Joanne Deery, Monaghan, won the ladies ploughing. There were two international competitions, with David Gill winning the world conventional class for the North, and John Whelan, Wexford, winning the world reversible class.

Co Wexford’s strong showing in All-Ireland ploughing continued, with three wins, and Gerard King, Louth, took two awards in the special and senior horse classes.

There were two wins also for south Tipperary competitors, but most of the trophies this week went to west Cork’s Jer Coakley, Gerard Collins, Jerry O’Driscoll and Geoffrey Wycherley.

East Cork’s Paddy Harrington and Niall Twomey were winners also. 24-year-old Coakley, a double winner at Athy, will join Eamon Tracey in Croatia next September, representing Ireland in the 2012 World Ploughing Contest.

He was a runner-up in the European Reversible Ploughing Championships in Strasbourg, France, before travelling to Athy.

*See next Thursday’s Farming section for full results and more news from the championships.