The sun came out and so did the crowds for the first day of the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co Offaly.
Some 78,500 people attended the opening day of the most multigenerational event in Ireland, up 3,000 on last year. Many opted for the first day because the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday is for showers.
There were long queues for the make-up tents, while the TikTok pavilion attracted the swarms of secondary school students on a day out.
All three presidential candidates: Heather Humphreys (Fine Gael), Jim Gavin (Fianna Fáil) and Catherine Connolly (Independent), were present. The Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael tents sit next to each other, as do images of the two party candidates.
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A glimpse of what lies in store for the successful candidate was apparent when President Michael D Higgins arrived in a five-car entourage led by two gardaí on horseback.
The cavalcade proceeded at walking pace, such was the density of the crowd. Teenagers piled around the car trying to get selfies and even live videos, causing consternation for the gardaí following on behind. “Michael, Michael, I’m a big fan,” shouted one teenager.
The presidential car passed by Ms Connolly’s stand. She stepped out and shook the gloved hand of Sabina Higgins, Mr Higgins’s wife, while the President waved to schoolchildren on the other side of the car.
Eventually the presidential entourage found itself leaving the madding crowds for the horse ploughing, where the competition was already taking place.
There he was photographed beside Larry and Jeff, two bay cobs, who were unfazed by all the fuss.
They were being coaxed down the furrows by Caroline O’Driscoll, from Kilbrittain, Co Cork, a rare female competitor in a sport dominated by men. She took up competitive ploughing only this year.
Her husband Liam was ploughing in the novice reversible classes.
“Traditionally the man always went out to the field with the horses and the woman stayed at home in the kitchen. Women never got a chance to go out on the land long ago,” she said.
“For us, in the world we are living in, we’d like to think it is a level playing field between men and women.”
The presence of so many young people at the ploughing belies a slowly looming crisis. In a State of full employment, many farmers are opting for an easier life.
Just 4.3 per cent of farmers in Ireland are under the age of 35, while 37 per cent are over the age of 65, according to a Central Statistics Office survey from 2023.
“We are an endangered species,” admitted Macra na Feirme president Josephine O’Neill.
“Unless we see action from our Government now and in the future, we may not have young farmers.
“So a lot of young people are farming or may want to farm, but they don’t know if they have a place around the kitchen table.”
Also at the championship, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon launched the long-awaited report of the Commission on Generational Renewal in Farming.
Targeted farmer supports worth €429 million to help succession are having a limited impact, the commission admits.
The perception of farming also needs to improve, as young people see persistent volatility, especially in the beef and sheep sectors, as a deterrent.
The report makes 31 recommendations across a wide range of areas, including Common Agricultural Policy supports, pensions, taxation, access to finance, access to land, collaborative arrangements, advisory services, education and training, and gender balance.
The commission recommends matching landowners without successors with young farmers to develop an option for them to eventually buy the land.
