"The Virginia Show will be held on Wednesday 22 August, come hell or high water" read a large sign on the Dublin-Cavan road yesterday. However, there was neither hell nor indeed any water to prevent the 66th show taking place on the shores of Lough Ramor during the best day we have had since early June.
The long-awaited sunshine not only set the combine harvester and tractor wheels turning in rural Ireland, it also saw a huge turnout of more than 15,000 people at the Cavan showgrounds.
In a summer which had seen 15 major agricultural shows cancelled, yesterday provided a breath of relief for people who had travelled to the event from all over the country.
"We were confident that we could hold the event because a lot of the showground is tarmac and concrete base, but to have a day like this is something very special in the bad summer we have had," said show secretary Catherine Murtagh.
"We thought we might have had to cancel some of the equestrian events but everything went ahead as planned and we have an even bigger crowd than last year," she added.
The issue of the weather was high on Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan's agenda yesterday when she visited the show with her family to award prizes.
She had been under pressure from farmers involved in the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) to ease the regulations on them which forces them to spread all the slurry they have in store before the end of this month.
Yesterday, she announced an easing of these restrictions, which affect about 10,000 farmers and a million gallons of slurry which might have had to be spread in very wet conditions.
"It's possible the weather will take up. It's looking good but we will ease the restrictions," she said.
As the sun continued to shine, the Minister said she was hopeful that later today there would be continuing good news on the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Britain, which scientists there believe they have contained.
Ms Coughlan was not the only Minister here yesterday. On site were three other Ministers of State - Seán Haughey, local man Brendan Smith, and Trevor Sargent, the Minister responsible for food, who was there in a private capacity.
But the highlight of the day was not the 170 trade stands or the hundreds of classes for everything from sods of turf to boiled potatoes, but rather the Baileys Champion Dairy Cow competition.
The 25 best milking cows in the country were at the show bidding to win the €8,000 in prizemoney and the prestige of being "top cow" on the island.
This year the organisers, mindful of the bad weather, provided a special marquee for the animals.
There was piped music in this marquee, where the cows were being preened for the competition, to cover the sound of the milking machines, because one or two of the cows do not like the noise.
The winner was Smearlaview A Storm Vixan, shown by John and Tim Kirby from Duagh, Listowel, Co Kerry, who was described by the judge, Bev Baker, as "the perfect cow".
The other big livestock prize, the Liffey Meats Best Bullock of the Show, was won by Irwin Stanley, Ballycolla, Co Laois, who took the €2,000 prize.