Tullamore Show falls victim for second year
Messages of goodwill and solidarity arrived in the show offices from people countrywide who were taken aback by the cruel impact that the weather again had on the event.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen was to have officially opened the show, which cost more than €700,000 to stage, and was expected to attract more than 50,000 people to the 150 acre Charleville Estate one mile outside town.
A tented village of more than 500 stands had been erected, some livestock had been moved on to the site, and 1,200 metres of metal trackway had been laid.
Everything was in place for the country’s biggest agricultural show which incorporates the AIB national livestock show.
But the volume of rain that fell across much of Leinster on Saturday afternoon left the 37-member executive, headed by chairman Tom Maher, secretary Freda Kinnarney and press officer Christy Maye, with little choice but to cancel the event.
It said they were “bitterly disappointed” having to cancel the show due to the unprecedented amount of rain that had fallen over the previous 24 hours, the current state of the show grounds, the health and safety of visitors and the welfare of show animals.
“We deeply regret any inconvenience that this may cause to our many friends that have supported us over the past number of years and through last year’s cancellation,” it said.
Racing at the Curragh also fell victim to the weather with the course deemed unfit after inspection yesterday morning.
“The course is waterlogged in places and there is nothing they can do about it,” said spokesman Cliff Noone. “We had a lot of rain, it was a deluge yesterday and there have been more showers overnight.”
Saturday night’s soccer match between Roy Keane’s Sunderland and Shamrock Rovers scheduled for Tolka Park was also called off after roads around the stadium became unpassable.
Shamrock Rovers said the game would be rearranged and tickets would be valid for the new date.
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