Wild rogues tempt city slickers to culchie fest

Slick latte-drinking office workers came face-to-face with pigs and hay outside their offices yesterday as culchies came to the city — looking for women.

The wild rural rogues took over the normally sophisticated surrounds of the Lapp’s Quay boardwalk in Cork, to encourage people, aged 21 to 91, to sign up for this year’s All Ireland Culchie Festival which will be hosted in the Rebel county later this year.

But festival organiser Paddy Rock issued a special invitation to female culchies to take part in the tongue-in-cheek event after the once male-dominated festival opened its doors to women for the first time last year.

“They brought an extra dimension to the competition alright,” he said.

“It’s a bit like the Rose of Tralee, but without a safety net.”

Reigning culchie cailín, Sinead Wall, who won a wheelbarrow race on the boardwalk with her pig Angie, by a short snout, encouraged women to get involved.

“This is no ordinary competition,” she said.

“The cailíns will have to be able to compete against and beat the men in such technical disciplines, as wellie throwing, wheelie-bin racing, round bale rolling, tractor driving, and spitting.”

But this year’s festival, which will be staged in Cloyne over the October bank holiday weekend, is poised to set pulses racing too with a pole-dancing competition and a topless Irish dancing display now confirmed.

The topless dancing will feature the festival’s top male culchies giving it wellie while stripped to their grass-stained vests.

Other events will include a super gran competition, the Irish Open Egg Throwing championships, a high nellie run, a junior culchie competition, and the glamorous Bacon and Cabbage Ball.

* www.culchiefestival.com