East Cork set to reap rewards of staging 2005 ploughing contest

EAST CORK will harvest at least €6 million next year when the National Ploughing Championships will be held near Castlemartyr.

The announcement is expected to be made tomorrow by Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh at a function in Mogeely.

Managing director of the National Ploughing Association (NPA), Ms Anna Marie McHugh, declined to confirm that the showcase event will be in Cork next year, except to say it would be held “somewhere in Munster”.

However, it is understood the championships will be held on the land of Richard Forrest, Deerpark, on the Killeagh-Mogeely road.

The event will be staged from September 27-29 and about 150,000 people are expected to attend.

Since its inception more than 70 years ago, the event has attracted many overseas visitors from Britain, Italy, Belgium, Canada, France and the US.

The event will coincide with Cork’s tenure as European Capital of Culture and it is appropriate that what many people regard as the biggest agricultural field event in Europe should also be held in Cork.

A spokesman for the Irish Hotels’ Industry said the staging of such an important event would be a boost for the local economy.

He added that accommodation would be needed to provide for the attendance, but East Cork was well-served by hotels and guesthouses.

Midleton-based Supt Liam Hayes said the gardaí were well used to catering for big numbers and he did not expect the event to pose too big a problem.

The event has become the biggest shop window for agri-business in Ireland. Like previous years, the venue will more than likely comprise an extensive range of plant and machinery, an auto-arena, home, garden and leisure stands, a livestock section and an indoor trade arena.

The event was last held in Co Cork five years ago in Castletownroche on the farm of Eddie and Margot Farrell.

It cost the NPA about €1.25m to stage it on the 300-acre site, with other property owners providing 300 more acres for parking.

The greenfield site was transformed into a marquee town with more than five miles of metal trackway and 900 trade outlets.

When the NPA was formed in 1931, 40 entries from nine counties competed in the first national ploughing contest, at a cost of £9 3s and 5 pence.

Nowadays, more than 300 competitors from all over the world take part.