All roads will lead to Screggan in County Offaly from September 15–17, as the National Ploughing Championships get underway.
Among those making the journey to compete for All-Ireland honours will be a strong contingent of Kerry competitors, who will put their skills to the test across a wide range of classes, including U21 Conventional, Intermediate Conventional, Horse, Farmerette, Vintage, Three Furrow, Macra and Loy Digging.
Kerry has a long and proud association with the National Ploughing Championships. Killarney hosted the National Championships in 1939 and 1961, while Ardfert was the venue in 1984. Killarney also welcomed the World Ploughing Contest in 1954, further cementing Kerry’s place in the history of the competition.
To date, Kerry competitors have claimed an impressive 52 All-Ireland titles, and hopes will be high that the county can add to that tally in Screggan.
“On behalf of Kerry Ploughing, we wish all of the Kerry competitors every success as they represent the county at this year’s championships,” said Kerry Ploughing PRO, Tom O’Mahony.
The Kerry challenge gets underway on Tuesday, September 15, with Gearoid Harty competing in the U21 Conventional Junior Plough Class and Derek O’Driscoll in the Intermediate Conventional Plough Class. Tom McCarthy, Michael O’Halloran and Patrick Boyle will contest the Intermediate Reversible Plough Class, while Johnathan Trant competes in the U40 Horse Plough Class and Aeneas Horan in the Vintage Two Furrow Trailer Plough Class.
On Wednesday, September 16, Martina Flynn will compete in the Farmerette Conventional Plough Class, with Molly Donegan in the Novice Conventional Intermediate Plough Class. Maurice Trant will contest the Senior Horse Plough Class, while Michael Brosnan takes part in the Vintage Two Furrow Mounted Plough Class. Donal Tydings will also represent Kerry in the Loy Digging Class.
The Kerry contingent will return to action on Thursday, September 17. Maurice Trant will compete in the Special Horse Plough Class, while Colm Dineen (Senior) and John Healy (Junior) contest the Three Furrow Conventional Senior and Junior Plough Classes.
Michael P Donegan and Michael J Donegan will compete in the Junior A and B Conventional Plough Class, with Niall O’Hanlon taking part in the Standard Three and Four Furrow Reversible Plough Class. Ryan Wharton will contest the Macra Two Furrow Conventional Plough Class, while James Collins competes in the Vintage Classic Plough Class and Aeneas Horan in the Six Nations Vintage Class.