A 700-acre site near New Ross, Co Wexford, was the venue chosen for the 2012 National Ploughing Championships on September 25th, 26th, 27th 2012. Machinery, livestock, food and fashion are the highlights of an event, which has become the largest of its kind in Europe.
The first inter-county ploughing contest took place in 1931 to settle an argument between two lifelong friends, Denis Allen of Gorey in Wexford and JJ Bergin of Athy, Co Kildare. Both men argued their respective counties had the best ploughmen. Since then, the championships have grown from a small field of 26 acres to a competition site in excess of 700 acres.
Approximately 220 acres are used for the ploughing competitions, 80 for trade stands and exhibitions, 25 acres for demonstrations, with a massive 400 acre area set aside for the parking of cars and buses.
Heavy rainfall with accompanying high wind along the east coast, meant weather conditions were extremely poor and spectators, exhibitors and competitors were urged to dress for the inclement weather. Most did and Wellington boots were the fashion item of the event. Organizers estimated that if a visitor spent a minute at every stand it would take 20 hours to get around the site. About 20km of metal walkways were laid to keep visitors free from mud as they move around.
This was my first visit to the Ploughing Championships, and I stayed overnight in Gorey, Co. Wexford. I arose early, had breakfast eaten before 6 am and arrived on site at 7.15am. Traffic was steady but moving well. As an exhibitor I had a traffic route to follow and parking was trouble free. Our exhibit stand was in the Leader village and finding my way there on a wet windy morning with a heavy box of brochures was no easy task. There were various location maps to assist and one mile later, I eventually arrived in the Leader village. Over 50,000 people attended on Wednesday despite the wet weather. It was noticeable that when heavy showers were on, the crowds swelled in the leader village as people took shelter. Chatting to exhibitors in the Leader village, it seems that only the hot food stalls were doing a brisk trade, other business being slow.
It was evident that the trip to the ploughing championships is an annual event for many families and as a result they were well prepared for the vagaries of Irish weather. There were up to 50 buses which were transporting school children. And if the truth be told the young students enjoyed, and actually embraced the conditions, most preferring to wade through the mud rather than use the metal walkways. This was my first visit to the National Ploughing Championships and it certainly was a unique and impressive experience.