Local Enterprise Village

It is all about taking it back to local roots at the Ploughing this year with the local enterprise village, hosted by the Local Enterprise Office (LEO), which will showcase 31 small companies and startups from around the country. There will be a vast array of businesses to check out at the local enterprise village – from jewellery and chocolate to charcoal and chairs, it is all taking place here.

Look out for The Farmer’s Daughter, a first-time exhibitor at the Ploughing which makes gluten-free gourmet beef burgers using natural ingredients. It is also worth paying a visit to Kitesports’ stand, the makers of Hurlóg, a soft hurley for young children.

Others to keep an eye out for at the local enterprise village include Fresh From…, Woolly Apple Knits, Virtual Vet and Criostal na Rinne.

Agri Aware

Agri Aware is bringing its ‘‘Big Red Shed’’ to the Ploughing this year. It will have fun activities for all the family in the shed, including butter discos, milking challenges, farm animals for visitors to meet, giveaways, a CAP trail and visitors can even get a tattoo (albeit a temporary one).

Agri Aware’s presence at the Ploughing is part of its year-long CAP communication campaign ‘‘My land, your land – Ireland’’ to educate people about the benefits of CAP policy through innovative communication tools. Visit www.agriaware.ie/cap. Agri Aware will also collaborate with the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science on a number of activities at the Ploughing.

LauraLynn

The LauraLynn Children’s Hospice stand at the Ploughing gives people a chance to support the amazing work LauraLynn does to ‘‘make the most of short and precious lives’’. As Ireland’s only children’s hospice, it is asking people to drop by and meet volunteers Fran O’Brien and Arthur McGuinness who will be running the stand once again. There will be a range of items to purchase, including books, gift cards and teddies, all of which raise vital funds for LauraLynn.

Based in Dublin, LauraLynn provides specialist hospice care to children from almost every county in Ireland. Care is tailored to the needs of each family throughout their journey, from their child’s diagnosis to end-of-life and bereavement. LauraLynn relies heavily on the generosity of individuals, companies and community groups. All care is provided free for families. Every contribution, large or small, can make a big difference.

For more information on LauraLynn, see www.lauralynn.ie.

Alzheimer Society of Ireland

World Alzheimer’s Day takes place during the National Ploughing Championships (Thursday 21 September) and September is also World Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. These campaigns aim to raise awareness and challenge the stigma that surrounds dementia.

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI) will be hosting a number of events, public talks and information sessions during September, including bringing its mobile information bus service to the Ploughing. The ASI’s experienced dementia advisers, staff and local branch volunteers will be there alongside the information bus during the three-day event to bring much needed support and information to people living with dementia, their family members and carers.

There are 55,000 people living with dementia in Ireland today and that number is expected to double over the next 20 years to 113,000. The ASI also provides a number of other supports and services to people with dementia and their carers across Ireland, including 51 day-care centres and one respite care centre. For details, contact the Alzheimer national helpline on 1800 341 341 or visit www.alzheimer.ie.

Daisy Cottage Farm

Ready to delight the taste buds of visitors to their stand at the Ploughing, Daisy Cottage Farm will have a range of sweet treats on offer. A small family-run artisan bakery nestled in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains, Daisy Cottage Farm bakes a range of breads and cakes using traditional recipes, while incorporating new tastes and ideas, such as their ploughman’s loaf; an award-winning loaf made with free-range bacon, cheese and mustard. Its Mars bars muffins, snickerdoodles and melt-in-the-mouth scones are ever popular with the public.

Eir

Eir, the official communication partner of the National Ploughing Championships, has offered three small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the chance to win an exhibition space at the Ploughing. They will join a number of other Irish companies showcasing at the High Speed High Street demo area at the Open Eir stand.

High Speed High Street has been created to mark Open Eir’s second year as the official communications partner to Europe’s largest outdoor event and to highlight the benefits high-speed broadband has for businesses in rural areas.

In April, the company signed a commitment agreement to deliver rural fibre to the home and to an additional 300,000 premises throughout the country.

As a direct result of Eir’s rollout programme, up to 80% of premises in Ireland will have access to high-speed broadband by the end of next year.

Aware

Although the Ploughing is associated with upbeat moods and happy times, for everyone life is not always so. The Aware tent will encourage visitors to ‘‘start the journey, empower yourself’’ offering a taste of the charity’s popular life skills programme. Information will also be available on nationwide support services for those affected by depression and bipolar, along with the organisation’s free programmes for adults and adolescents, designed to educate and empower people to look after their mental health.

There are 38 support groups for individuals experiencing depression or bipolar located throughout Ireland, in addition to a number of specialised groups that include a young adult support group and a perinatal support group. Visit www.aware.ie for more information on support group locations.