Tipperary Town to turn the clock back with churn-rolling contest
Competition will be red hot for this special anniversary showdown, the Irish dairy sector’s answer to the Pamplona bull run.
Speeds of as much as 40km/h have been recorded over the years. A huge crowd is expected to come see the sparks fly as the churns career down Tipperary Town’s Main Street, just a stone’s throw away from the co-op.
The churn-rolling final is the marquee event of the annual It’s a Long Way to Tipperary Festival. Tipperary Co-op is the event sponsor.
“It’s an honour to support this event which started with us all those years ago, and still draws the crowds,” said Ted O’Connor, general manager of Tipperary Co-op, Tipperary Town.
The championship was launched recently by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Tom Hayes, along with RTÉ’s Marty Morrissey.
The sport traces its beginnings back to 1964, when workers at Tipperary Co-op Tipperary Town conceived the idea in anticipation of that year’s Tipperary Festival.
“Obviously, the milk churn was an item close at hand for the co-op’s workers,” said Ted O’Connor. “Then they did what any inventive person would, they sought to do the extraordinary with the ordinary.”
The workers tilted the churns at an angle so that just the edge of the base was in contact with the surface of the street. From there on it was just a matter of balance, skill and speed as competitors ran with the revolving churn along a 100-metre course.
Paddy Cleary, from Curraghpoor, Donaskeigh, was crowned overall champion at the first event in 1964. In recent years the tradition of churn-rolling has been revived. Shane Ryan, from Lattin, is the current title holder.
The event will feature the finals of senior, juvenile and milkmaid categories, as well as churn rolling exhibitions, and a host of other events each night.
