30th South Offaly Ploughing Match to be held on Sunday next

SOUTH Offaly Ploughing will hold their 30th annual ploughing match on Sunday next February 15th at Rath, Birr.

This year's event will be held on the lands of the Walsh family at Backlands, Rath by kind permission. The site is located on the Rath to Kilcormac road.
The Walsh family hosted both the 10^th and 20^th anniversary matches so it very fitting that the event returns to their lands for the 30^th anniversary.

Since its foundation in 1996 the South Offaly Ploughing branch has gone from strength to strength. The annual ploughing match has become a very popular event with many spectators attending to see the immense skill of the competitors. The ploughing match is also a wonderful social event where both members of the farming and non farming community come together to meet annually.

Members of the Branch have also been very successful at national level since its foundation with four of its members winning All Ireland titles. The most recent success was last September when Jonathan Murray won the Junior class at the All Irelands in Tullamore

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This year’s event will also be extra special as many of the ploughing classes will be held in grassland. Ploughing grassland brings extra challenges for the competitors as mistakes are more evident so they will need to be on top of their game to impress the judges.

Competitors from all across the country will compete in a series of categories, including vintage, conventional and reversible.

The South Offaly Ploughing match always draws a large number of spectators to the field. The skill of the competitors who plough the plots with such a level of precision can be extremely rewarding to watch.
Competitors will be judged on the quality of their work, including the uniformity and
straightness of their furrows, as well as their overall technique in turning the soil.
The South Offaly match is the fifth match in Offaly where local competitors battle for places on the Offaly team to represent the county at the All Ireland championships which return to Screggan, Tullamore this September.
South Offaly Ploughing would like to extend a huge word of thanks to all their sponsors many of whom have supported them since the foundation of the branch. Without that continued support its achievements would not have been possible.
The event kicks off at 12 noon on Sunday and all ploughing competitions can pre-register by calling (087) 7584168.

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