The Ploughing site will be the 'biggest town in Offaly' - NPA president

There’s a well-known saying that many hands make light work, and for the team behind the National Ploughing Championships that’s no exception.

There are many people who have been working tirelessly over the last number of weeks and months during the buildup to the 94th National Ploughing Championships.

We spoke to the president of the National Ploughing Association (NPA), Michael Mahon, from Blueball in Co Offaly, about the upcoming event.

“It’s an honour for me to be president of the National Ploughing Association when the Ploughing is coming to my own county,” he said.

Michael emphasised the enormity of the event, by saying it is the largest agricultural event in Europe, let alone Ireland.

“The ground was only cut for silage a few weeks ago, and it will be the biggest town in Offaly come the days of the Ploughing,” Mahon said.

He added that there can be anything a visitor could want at the Ploughing, and that there is something to suit everybody.

He highlighted the importance of the venue and the site owners who allow the event to take place on their lands.

“Without the site owners, we’d have no Ploughing,” Mahon said.

Extra land

There will be approximately 380 people competing in the Ploughing competitions this year, and Michael said they had to request more land to have enough capacity.

Michael has been on the executive of the NPA for 33 years – the second longest serving member after Anna May McHugh, managing director of the NPA.

He was chair of the association for five years before becoming president in 2024.

“There’ll never be another Anna May,” he said, commending the NPA managing director for the hard work she puts in.

Thomas Healy, one of the vice presidents of the NPA explained how preparations this year are ahead of plan, due to the favourable weather conditions in the lead-up to the event.

He said how the Ploughing is important for a farming point of view. He added that it attracts people from outside of agriculture and rural Ireland, and brings people from towns and cities across the country.

“You would want more than a day to see it properly,” he said.

Healy also commended the work of managing director Anna May McHugh. “She’s a marvellous woman and she has a great way about her,” he said.

Daniel O’Dwyer from Co Kilkenny who was elected in 2022, is the other vice president of the NPA.

“It’s an opportunity for people to meet once a year when they’ve all their work done. Farmers can meet and talk about their results of the year gone by and how it all went. There’s a good social aspect to it,” he said.