The wellies are on, the sandwiches are made, the excitement has been building since you first hit the traffic jam, but you’re finally on site – and that’s when you hear it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a small boy here called Séan Murphy and we’re looking for his mammy and daddy.”

And there it is, the sound of Carrie Acheson on the public address, the sound of happy memories and good times, the sound of the Ploughing. And the lady behind the voice certainly doesn’t disappoint. When Irish Country Living went to meet Carrie in her home town of Clonmel ahead of her 30th public address at the Ploughing, she was as lively as ever.

“Donal,” she said to our photographer. “Will you hurry up with that camera? People will think you’re taking pictures for my mortuary card.”

Lost and Found

It’s that sense of humour that keeps the crowds laughing each year as they wander from stand to stand, although Carrie also comes across her fair share of tears.

“Every year at the Ploughing, I have colouring books to keep the children entertained as they wait for their parents to collect them.”

After all, it is in Carrie’s van beside the NPA headquarters where children end up when they get lost, although she is quick to remind us that children don’t get lost at the Ploughing.

“They simply get misplaced. In all the years we’ve never left a youngster on site at the end of the day.

“In fact, most times it’s the parents we have to mind. They arrive in traumatised, looking for their young one. Usually the child is in the corner playing.”

Carrie says the children really do make her laugh: “They come in bewildered with their snotty noses. They tell you their name and as you’re writing it, they’re looking over your shoulder to make sure you’ve spelt it right. I always say to them: ‘What does it matter how I spell it, as long as I say it right on the microphone.’”

“It’s the teenagers who are the nuisance,” laughs Carrie. “I’d often get young lads coming in saying their friend is missing. Sure they’re only joking with me – they just want to hear their own name on the mic.”

Carrie says she loves to hear the Ministers talk at the Ploughing: “Ah sure, that’s when I can have my tea break. But the Ploughing isn’t about the VIPs, it’s about the families, the farming community – it’s their day out.”

Farming Community

Carrie has been part of that farming community her whole life. Before she married her husband, Hugh, in 1959, she was known as Carrie Barlow, and her family owned Barlow Farm Machinery in Clonmel.

“We sold farm machinery, but it was tough. Farmers had so little. They could only pay once a year, and you nearly cried with them when they had nothing. Everyone worked so hard.”

So hard in fact, that when Carrie’s son Brian was born in 1965, she took three days maternity leave.

“I was back to work the following Monday and I didn’t think twice about it.”

It is this work ethic that has seen Carrie become much more than the voice of the National Ploughing Championships and the Tullamore Show. As well as being a Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary South in the 1980s, she was Mayor of Clonmel and farmed with Hugh. That was until 2009 when he died tragically on the farm. Five weeks later, Carrie had a stroke herself, ending up in hospital for four months.

“It was a hard year, a very hard year. But that September I just had to get on with it again, heading back to my van at the Ploughing.”

Sensational Style

That’s exactly what people know her for – putting her best foot forward, usually in a pair of very fashionable shoes which are accessorised with an equally impressive hat.

“I’m known for my hats alright,” laughs Carrie. “I won’t even go down the town without one on. People will often pop their head into me at the Ploughing just to see what hat I’m wearing.”

In fact, this stylish lady has all her outfits picked out for the event. “I buy all my suits from Clintons in Clonmel. Mary in there knows exactly what I like.”

Besides the fashion, what else is Carrie looking forward to at Ploughing 2013?

“The friendships and camaraderie, there is such a sense of family. You mightn’t see some people from one year to the next, but when you meet them at the Ploughing it’s like nothing has changed. We all go there for the love of the event.”

What Carrie doesn’t seem to realise though, is that she embodies that camaraderie and sense of fun – a sentiment echoed by Anna May McHugh, managing director of the National Ploughing Championships.

“Carrie is part and parcel of the Ploughing. She gives 110% no matter what. Even if the weather is bad or when numbers were down, Carrie always had a smile on her face. Every year we can’t wait to see what she is going to wear. While the rest of us might be a bit dusty and untidy at the end of the day, Carrie always looks immaculate. We hope she’ll be with us for many more years to come. One thing is for certain, it would be hard to fill her very stylish shoes.”

So as she approaches her 30th Ploughing, does Carrie have any apprehensions?

“Sometimes I do worry whether I’ve turned off the microphone. I don’t think I’ve said anything too wrong over the years though.”

No Carrie, you’ve never said anything too wrong. In fact, we hope you never turn off that mic.