Farm Focus with FBD: 60,000 expected at Tullamore Show & FBD National Livestock Show

The show that returned in 1991 after a 52-year absence and moved house in 2009 goes from strength to strength, writes Denis Lehane

Not a lot of people remember this now, but Tullamore Agricultural Show took a break for 52 years, before returning to action in 1991.

And from 1991, it has blossomed to become the show by which so many other rural event organisers in this country measure their success.

A one-day show that really packs the punch of a two-day event.

If you want to get the feel of agriculture and farming in all its wondrous glory, then you need to be in Tullamore next Sunday.

“The show covers an area of about 250 acres, to be honest there is simply no way you will see all the aspects of it in one day,” Freda Kinnarney, Tullamore Show Secretary, explains.

It’s a very large one-day event, and if you don’t see it all this year, well then the hope is, that you will return again next year, and take in even more of it.

And with 60,000 visitors expected on Sunday, returnees are most certainly amongst the number.

“We will have over 700 trade stands across a large range of businesses, and whether it’s your car, machinery, household, gardening, landscaping, financial, whatever your needs are, one third of the space here is dedicated to business. It’s like a town set up in a field for just a day.

“We moved onto this site our weeks ago and it has been non-stop ever since.

There would have been sheep grazing here in this field before we arrived,” said Freda as we walked the site.

Tullamore Show is located on Butterfield Estate, just five miles from Tullamore town.

From the second week in July to the end of August, show organisers and staff work tirelessly creating the monster event, ensuring adequate power and water, amongst other matters, and then returning it all to the sheep after the event.

“For the dairy stock competing here on August 12, there is the option of booking them in on the night before the show.

“We will have about 100 dairy cattle housed here overnight.

“They will come here on Friday morning, particularly maybe the senior dairy cows.

“Obviously, we have milking facilities and all that they will require onsite.”

We would have accommodation here for general stock also, with the Charolais and Hereford marquees having facilities for overnight stays.

If it’s cattle you are into, Tullamore is of course the place to go.

“We will have over 200 competition classes for stock of the highest standard.

“Owners and breeders realise that winning the rosette here in Tullamore is not easily achieved.

“And it’s this high standard of competition that seems to encourage entries rather than deter them.

“We will have international breeder groups here also, to see stock on the ground.”

Between 1991 and 1993, Tullamore Show would have been considered a “regular” agricultural event, but in ‘94, the event got a major shot in the arm by way of the national livestock competition.

If you recall, the Spring Show in Dublin dropped the National Livestock Show from their agenda in 1993.

“We picked it up the following year and we haven’t looked back since.

“Having the National Livestock Show on board has been very beneficial for the expansion of Tullamore Show.

“And to develop it further, we went down the line of having a title sponsor for the livestock event.

“We now have FBD as title sponsor of the National Livestock Show, and we are working extremely well together.

“It’s the perfect marriage, if you like, between FBD and ourselves, and it has given a great boost. We are delighted to have them on board. FBD is a company that has a great track record and respect amongst the farming community.”

Sponsorship aside, things haven’t always run smoothly for Tullamore Show.

Freda thinks back to the atrociously wet summers of a decade ago, when the very future of Tullamore Show hung in the balance.

Crowds at the Tullamore Show in 2014

A far cry from the drought-burned fields we have seen during the summer of 2018.

“We are here on the Butterfield Estate site since 2009, before that we held the show in Charleville Estate.

“And if you recall, in 2007 and 2008, we had a catastrophe, in the form of atrocious weather.”

Back in 2007, at 8pm, on the evening prior to the event, organisers were forced to cancel. It was the same story a year later.

A strong backbone was needed, and a fresh start.

A new site was sought and secured.

The only worry that concerned me when we were leaving Charleville Estate was that we might lose the wonderful atmosphere which the place seemed to have.

“Thank God, it came with us and has grown and developed over time.”

Freda also talked to me about the great buzz surrounding the show, not only on the day, but for weeks before in the planning and staging of it.

“You are not long here now on site, but already I’m sure you sense the atmosphere,” Freda says.

“It’s very busy right now, but there is an atmosphere here that gives you a great return for your time spent working.

“Before I met you this morning, I was finalising the layout of a marquee, and a man came up to me with his CV, saying that he would love to get involved as a volunteer.

“He has become unemployed very recently, and has all the documentation to drive diggers and all that type of thing.

He just wants to get involved, and that is the kind of atmosphere we have here.

“The vast majority of people who work on the show do so on a voluntary basis.

“On the day of the show, we will have 600 volunteers working on site.

“It might be a student looking for a bit of work experience, it might be the man I just mentioned.

“I firmly believe your life develops positively from experience like this.

“We also have a great working relationship with the County Council, the Guards, and all the stakeholders involved.

“There is great support, a great network, it really is a great team.

“On the day of the show, you see all the planning by the individual groups and the overall planning coming into place, and this can be very exciting.

You see people coming in here and they are happy, once they come here to the car park and see a cheerful face, they begin to feel the buzz.

“And at the end of the day, with the National Livestock Show, we have our parade of champions.

“In the pedigree section alone, there would be 14 different breeds.

“So we have a big parade ring set up for all the champions.

“The champions are presented with the gold medal, and a rosette for the reserve champion. Everyone of course is vying for gold.

“We are aware that some shows have a supreme champion, but we believe that when judging all the different breeds, when comparing commercial animals, with dairy breeds, with pedigree cattle, it’s hard to get it right.

“They are all champions in their own breed, and we respect that.

“During the parade of champions, we would have Tom Cox doing MC, he will have the history of the animal, and they are acknowledged at that stage.”

And of course FBD are now sponsors of the main event at Tullamore Show, the National Livestock Show.

Freda has this to say on their commitment to the show. “FBD have been involved with Tullamore Show from the very beginning. They would have been involved from the very first show in 1991.

“With the last couple of years, they would have increased their involvement, particularly in the livestock section.

This year, FBD are on board with us as title sponsors of the National Livestock Show. We now have the Tullamore Show and the FBD National Livestock Show.

“We are absolutely delighted with that involvement. FBD gel well with us.

“They are very well regarded in the farming and agri world. We have developed a great working relationship with them down through the years.

“The gold medal will have the FBD logo on it, and I’m sure it will be something that will be admired on many a stand over the coming years.

“It’s a privilege to be working with FBD, and we look forward to doing so for many years to come.”

In the latest Irish Examiner Farming Podcast with Noel Baker, we preview the country’s largest one-day agri event, Tullamore Show - speaking to organisers, sponsors and exhibitors ahead of the August 12 event.