‘The Ploughing’ is a celebration of all that is good in farming and agriculture

At the 2024 Ploughing Championships, everyone seemed happy, save for the welly salesmen, and even they could content themselves with a 99. What is rare, is indeed very, very wonderful

The large crowd on the third day of the National Ploughing Championships at Ratheniska, Co Laois. Picture: Dan Linehan

As the curtain fell on the 2024 iteration of the National Ploughing Championships on Thursday evening, it did so under the feather weight of an asterisk. A qualifier that will separate this year's edition from most that came before it. 

Often, such a symbol denotes something negative or unproven, like Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France victories, but the asterisk above this year's championship is nothing of the sort. It will only serve to remind what an anomalous occasion this turned out to be.