President Connolly calls for 'urgent' change during Ploughing address

President Catherine Connolly called for ‘urgent’ change as she officially opened the 95th edition of the National Ploughing Championships in Offaly on Tuesday, September 15.

The launch ceremony took place at the grandstand on site in Screggan at 12 noon as crowds gathered to witness the president’s address.

President Connolly was introduced by NPA Managing Director Anna May McHugh and she began her speech by expressing her joy at being in attendance at the Ploughing.

She said: “It’s lovely to be back here at the National Ploughing Championships, I was here last year for the very first time and I got a very educational tour so it’s a real privilege to be able to return here as the 10th president of Ireland.”

The president also reflected on the history of the National Ploughing Championships and the growth it has experienced over nearly a century.

“It’s been 95 years since the first ploughing in Athy, it has grown from a small field of over 20 acres to the 700 acres we see today. It has evolved over a century to become one of the biggest agricultural events in the world in the process. It is a real celebration of Ireland.”

She continued: “Autumn is a special time in the Celtic calendar. In Ireland, our connection with the land is visceral, it’s in our history and it’s embedded in the people so I want to acknowledge the hard work that goes towards that and we can celebrate it today as a result.”

During President Connolly’s address, she took the opportunity to highlight the lack of action taken on tackling climate change as well as Ireland’s reliance on food imports.

Connolly stated: “Unfortunately, the Ploughing Championships this year take place against unprecedented global heating due to climate change, causing the extreme weather we see all around us.”

She highlighted recent findings made by the Climate Advisory Council in its annual report which showed that Ireland experienced one of its hottest summers since records began.

“Significantly, as a country, we were to the forefront in declaring a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency seven years ago, in May 2019 with a commitment to taking transformative action.”

She added: "Regrettably, the stark statistics coming from a wide range of sources tell us that that action has not taken place.”

Aside from the the statistics on Climate, she also pinpointed the analysis of food imports and exports which she referred to as “equally worrying.”

Connolly said: “Ireland’s food supply and distribution is highly dependent on imports and vulnerable to a range of external disruptions and risks, including conflicts and the impacts of extreme weather on inputs and supply change.

She added: It is urgent that we begin to take the transformative change needed to build a sustainable and food-secure future. It’s crystal clear that we cannot continue with business as usual and farmers have to be part of the process.”

President Connolly concluded her speech by saying: “I wish you all the very best and thank you for the work you have done here, I’ve highlighted all the damning statistics but there’s hope in these reports for a sustainable future with farmers and communities at the heart of that change.”