A faithful return for the Ploughing to Tullamore
NPA's Managing Director Anna May McHugh with site owner, Lisa Flaherty Grogan and her family, Danielle, Emma and Darcy at the announcement of Screggan, Tullamore, as the venue for Ploughing 2025 to be held on September 16, 17 and 18. Photo: Alf Harvey
The organisers of the National Ploughing Championships have kept faith with Offaly, the Faithful County, which will host the event for the ninth time next September.
A sprawling site at Screggan, near Tullamore, has been named as the venue for Europe’s largest outdoor agriculture event on September 16, 17 and 18.
The championships were held on the same farm in 2016, 2017 and 2018, when the late Joe Grogan was the host. His wife, Lisa Flaherty Grogan, will provide the site for the 2025 event with neighbouring farmers making lands available for the ploughing competitions and parking.
Offaly has a proud record in hosting the event which has attracted attendances of almost 300,000 people over the past decade with the Screggan site being one of the most popular locations. A good road network, community spirit, a central location, public services, and committed local organisers have contributed to the success of the previous events held at the site.
Offaly first hosted the championships in 1936 when Tullamore was the venue. But the county had to wait another 46 years, however, before the event returned to the county with Edenderry being the location in 1982.
Charleville Estate in Tullamore (1987), Fivealley near Birr (1997), and Annaharvey Farm Tullamore (1997) have also hosted the showpiece annual gathering.
Screggan’s selection as the 2025 venue was widely welcomed. It will require over 700 acres to stage and will be a big boost for the local economy mainly through the hospitality industry and the involvement of many local services.
Anna May McHugh, managing director, said the NPA is excited to be going back to Offaly with many old favourite elements to the programme but some new attractions.
The decision to return to The Faithful County followed an exciting year for Offaly ploughing with Michael Mahon from Blacklion, Blueball, becoming the NPA’s new president.
A former assistant managing director, he has been actively involved with ploughing at competitive and leadership levels for more than 30 years. He has been an NPA director since 1989 and is a past national chairman.
He has served as a judge at ploughing competitions in Ireland and abroad, helped bring the national championships to different venues in Offaly on several previous occasions and played key roles in the Republic of Ireland hosting the World Contest on two occasions.
Michael has been involved with the association for many decades and was also a talented ploughman who won many competitions locally, at county, national and international levels.
Rose Egan from Tullamore added to Offaly’s joy at last year’s ploughing championships when she won the National Brown Bread Baking Competition, which is supported by Euronics, in association with the NPA and the Irish Countrywomen’s Association.
