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Flavours of Fingal, the popular north County Dublin show now in its seventh year, will take place this weekend 23 and 24 June and will be held again in Newbridge House and Farm, Donabate.
This year’s Flavours of Fingal will be another action-packed two-day event which will combine the sights and sounds of a traditional agricultural show with an unforgettable food and family fun experience.
The show will again host a mix of food, equestrian and farming attractions, including food stalls boasting locally produced delicacies, craft and cooking demos and an extensive catalogue of cattle and sheep classes.
Ireland’s oldest breed of cattle will be on display with the Irish Moiled Cattle Society holding its AGM at the show this year.
This is the first time the society will hold its AGM in the south of Ireland, with members from all over the UK and Ireland travelling to the show for this spectacle.
After the success of last year’s show, which attracted 80,000 visitors, there will be a comprehensive traffic plan in place, with over 6,000 car parking spaces as well as park and ride facilities and shuttle buses from the surrounding towns.
Kilconnor flock open day
In 2011, Carlow-based Joe Nolan set about a change of venture and introduced the Lleyn breed of sheep into his flock.
Having purchased foundation stock at society sales in Tullow and Ballymena, as well as private purchases from well-known local breeders, the breed has now grown to account for one quarter of Joe’s flock.
As testament to the breed’s longevity, some of the original females purchased seven years ago are still in the flock.
The first batch of Lleyn ewes were put to a Charollais ram. He found they were good to manage and produced smart tight-skinned prime lambs, just what the market wants.
Keen on keeping a closed flock, Joe paid €1,120 for a Ballyogan ram sired by Incheoch Moral at the society sale in Roscommon in 2016 to breed his own purebred replacements.
In recent years, Logie rams have been introduced as a bridge between the terminal Charollais and maternal Lleyns. Logies originate in northern Scotland and have been a fixed breed for over 10 years, originating from an F1 cross of the Durno and Lleyn.
This year, three Charollais, three Logies and three Lleyn rams have been put to the 800-ewe flock and it is hoped that mixing and matching these rams to ewes will help meet market demands for factory lambs, while also keeping the maternal traits of the flock at where they need to be.
This year’s open day for the south of Ireland club of the Lleyn Sheep Society will be held on Joe’s farm, this Saturday June 23, located in Kilconnor, Fenagh, Co Carlow. For further details, contact Joe on 087-853 9652.
Oldcastle show youth workshop set for 28 June
A youth development training day ahead of Oldcastle Show on 15 July will take place on John McEnroe’s farm at Liss, Oldcastle, Co Meath, on 28 June.
The training day has been running ahead of the local show for a number of years now and provides excellent hands-on training ahead of the big day.
Topics such as health and safety, washing, grooming, clipping and handler presentation will all be covered.
One of the highlights over the last few years, that will be again gone through for 2018, is nutrition for show animals and a butcher’s breakdown of an animal.
The training kicks off at 6pm on the day with a cost of €5 to cover a light meal. For more information, contact John on 086-610 8249.
€30,000 prize fund for County Clare Show
The County Clare Agricultural Show Society is set to host its 114th show on 1 July. Based at the showgrounds, Ennis, the show provides an array of competitions and attractions with something to suit all the family.
The shows attracts sponsorship from throughout Ireland and this year boasts a prize fund of over €30,000.
The cattle section of the show offers five breeds, including Charolais, Limousin, Hereford, Belgian Blue and Shorthorn.
Joined with this, the show offers an extensive lineup of commercial cattle classes, culminating in the all-Ireland breeding heifer championship, which carries a prize fund of €1,500.
This class sees the owner of the red rosette recipient walk home with a cheque for €600.
The show will also play host to the banner yearling colt, gelding and filly championships in the horse rings, which carry a prize fund of €2,500.
Outside of the livestock, a number of key attractions for the 2018 show include carriage driving classes, dog show, trade stands, rodeo bull and strongman hammer.
For a full schedule of the event, go to the show’s website at www.clareshowsociety.com or contact the secretary on 087-937 0577.
Ballina Show
This year’s Ballina Show takes place on Sunday 8 July and offers an increased catalogue of classes, coupled with a lucrative prize fund.
The commercial section, in particular, has seen a big increase, with €5,000 now up for grabs across the classes.
All ages and weights are catered for in the section, with 11 different classes, some carrying prize funds as high as €600, with €250 for the top animal in the class.
On the pedigree side, the show has a new class for 2018 for the overall champion pedigree of the show.
This class awards €350 and €150 for the champion and reserve respectively and is judged by all the pedigree judges on the day.
For details on the 81st show or schedules, contact Grace O’Boyle on 089-257 0510 or email:ballinashow@gmail.com.
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