On top of the four breed national finals, the cattle rings will also feature a number of other high-end competitions.

The Angus ring, in particular, has a lot to offer. Angus Beef Ireland has again sponsored the Angus calf classes with a €6,000 prize fund up for grabs. With last year deemed a success by organisers, the classes will again have three judges on hand to choose the winners. An international judge will be amonght the judges with the two others selected by the Irish Angus Cattle Society and Irish Aberdeen Angus Association to assure fairness to all.

The junior classes are divided by age and sex, culminating in championships for both the male and female class winners. The male and female champions then go forward for the junior Angus champion to be decided.

Donal Gilsenan, certification manager with Angus Beef Ireland, said: “We are happy to support Tullamore Show, FBD National Livestock Show, Angus breeders and producers who provide the building blocks for the finished product displayed on supermarket shelves. We look forward to a great day’s showing and wish exhibitors, Tullamore Show and FBD all the best.”

Tullamore Show will also be host to the qualifying classes for this year’s Aldi-ABP Irish Angus all-Ireland bull calf championships. This is one of 15 qualifying shows for the finals at Iverk Show, which sees €23,500 awarded to breeders. Along with each qualifying animal securing €150 for attending the final, the winner of the two older classes will receive €2,000 each, while the junior class sees the winner claim €1,000. Following Tullamore Show, breeders will only have four shows in which they can qualify – Cappamore, Roscommon, Swinford and Mohill.

Salers

The Salers Cattle Society of Ireland will again return to Tullamore with their all-Ireland calf championship. These championships include four classes with a total of €2,000 up for grabs. The first in each class will receive €200 but perhaps even more enticing for breeders is that the overall calf champion will secure a much sought after Tullamore Show gold medal.

Dairy

The dairy cattle section sees classes for all breeds, as well as confined classes for local breeders from Laois, Offaly and Westmeath.

However, the two biggest classes of the day for dairy breeders are the national Holstein heifer in-milk class and the National Livestock Show cow in-milk class. Both of these classes carry a lucrative prize fund of €2,500.

Commercial

The commercial cattle section of Tullamore Show is always popular for its calf and senior cattle classes, along with two FBD National Livestock Show young stockperson of the year 2018 competitions for 12- to 16-year-olds and 17- to 24-year-olds. There are over 30 classes in this section for 2018, including many new features. One of the biggest additions is the Blonde d’Aquitaine €3,000 golden heifer final. This class, kindly sponsored by Natural Nutrition Ltd, will see the winning heifer purchased by the Irish Blonde Cattle Society for €3,000. This heifer will then be the first prize in the society’s annual raffle, which takes place at the Ploughing.