It’s best known as a venue for the Electric Picnic but Stradbally will host a much bigger event next year when the National Ploughing Championships is held there.
Yesterday the National Ploughing Association announced that Ratheniska, just outside Stradbally, had been selected to host the event, which will run from September 24th to 26th.
David Carter and his family will be the main landowners but the total site will be spread over 700 acres as neighbouring farmers will provide land for ploughing and parking.
The event was last held in Ratheniska 70 years ago but Laois has been a popular venue for the championships in more recent years. Ballacolla hosted the event in 1995, 2000 and 2002.
This year’s event in Heathpark, New Ross, attracted 187,500 people despite bad weather and heavy traffic. The central location of Stradbally is expected to draw a bigger crowd next year as it is just off the N80 and M7.
National Ploughing Association managing director Anna May McHugh said she was delighted the event was returning to her home county “and I am really looking forward to working with the people of Ratheniska, Stradbally and Laois to make this one of our best events yet”.
