A packed Breaffy House Hotel ballroom saw the Irish Shows Association (ISA) look back on a successful 2022 and look forward to a bigger and 2023 at its annual general meeting in Mayo.

Show committees from all over the country attended the annual gathering, which saw Cavan man Raymond Brady elected as the ISA president for 2023.

Speaking at the event, ISA past president Catherine Gallagher said: “2022 flew by for me as president of the ISA. I started my journey on 30 April to Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, and I attended 51 shows and the launch of seven shows, covering 25 counties over a period of six months.”

Paying tribute to the many volunteers who run local shows, she said: “All our shows across the country are run by teams of dedicated volunteers and they are an essential element to the smooth running of our shows. Each and every one of them are deserving of our acknowledgement and appreciation.”

Current president Raymond Brady said: “I’d like to thank Minister Humphries for her commitment to shows and the Government for backing local communities through its funding. Shows have a wonderful culture of helping each other out and, as president, I want to foster that culture in 2023.”

Minister Heather Humphries said: “Local agricultural shows play a very important role in rural Ireland, showcasing all that is good about farming and farm families. They also give a great boost to local economies around the country. I would like to acknowledge the huge work that Jim Harrison and the ISA are doing to modernise shows and I was delighted to be able to allocate €700,000 to shows in 2022 to help with the increased costs of running shows this year.”