All eyes on West Cork ploughing final in Macroom
Stacey O'Sullivan is one of this year's favourites for the farmerette title. Picture: Dan Linehan
Fifteen competitors from Co Cork were among the medal winners at the 91st National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Co Laois last September, and many of them will be in action next Sunday in the West Cork County ploughing final at Macroom.
The ploughing match on the lands of Angela Leonard, Teergay, Kilbarry (Eircode P12 KV00), to the southwest of Macroom, will decide many of the places on the West Cork team of over 20 who will take part in the next All-Ireland, at Ratheniska, September 19-21, 2023.
Ploughing is the centrepiece of the National Championships which have become a huge event, attended by 277,000 last September, but it all starts at local venues like Teergay, where competitions will get underway at 11am (weather permitting).
It's a special occasion, as the Macroom Ploughing Association reaches its 50th anniversary milestone, and hosts the West Cork County Final for the sixth time in those 50 years.
The idea of forming the association in Macroom was discussed by members of Macra na Feirme, a very active organisation in Macroom in the early 1970s, and the first ploughing match followed on the lands of Denis Murphy, Leeview, on a Tuesday in February, 1971.
It wasn’t permitted to plough on a Sunday at that time, but Macroom was eventually the first club in Cork to plough on a Sunday, in the early 1980s.
Helped by generous sponsors, the Macroom ploughing organisation grew in strength, with members competing at all levels, and many of them successful at the All Ireland level. The organisation is lucky to have young people joining on a yearly basis.
Macroom has also been lucky with obliging landowners providing excellent ploughing sites, mainly lea ground.
It's lea ground again next Sunday, which will provide a more demanding test than stubble ground for the competitors.
They started ploughing last October at Clonakilty, the West Cork Ploughing Association's first event of the year. Now, after seven matches, several ploughing classes are still undecided, with points at Macroom determining overall winners and who will represent West Cork at Ratheniska, Co Laois.
However, it looks like Kieran Coakley and Jim Grace will fill the two senior conventional places on the All-Ireland team. Both are seasoned and successful All-Ireland competitors.
Johnny O'Donovan and Stanley Deane are in close contention for the Intermediate title.
Niall O'Driscoll and Aidan O'Donovan are on top of the under-28 leader board.
Noel Nyhan and Geoff Wycherley are ahead on points in the under-21 matches. Geoff was third in the under-21 All-Ireland conventional plough class last September.
The farmerette title will probably also be decided at Macroom, with Katie Hayes (an All-Ireland winner last September) or Stacey O'Sullivan the likely overall winner.
Leading the reversible class at this stage are Ger Coakley, Liam O'Driscoll, and Michael Wycherley. They have many All-Ireland wins between them.
Connor Farrell was the national runner-up at Ratheniska in the under-28 reversible plough class and is going well in West Cork again this year.
In the three-furrow conventional plough class, Matthew Coakley and Kevin O'Driscoll are going well.
In the vintage competitions, John Woulfe is going well. He was the trailer class runner-up when representing Ireland last year in the European Vintage Ploughing Championships. In the other west Cork vintage classes, Ger Collins and Gordon Jennings have been the top performers so far. Gordon was another to do well in the All-Ireland last September.
The horse competitions are always a big attraction, and Macroom expects to have two of the best in action, JJ and Jeremiah Delaney. Although representing east Cork during their many great All-Ireland performances, they are longstanding Macroom members.
JJ is a founding member, a runner-up when ploughing with a tractor in Macroom’s first ploughing match, but he is planning on being a winner when he will plough with horses at the 50th next Sunday.
The event will finish up with the results announcement and refreshments in Coolcower House.
