Along with four cattle breed nationals finals at the show, a number of other breeds also compete for significant prizes. Returning for its third year is the €6,000 Angus Beef Ireland-sponsored junior Angus classes.

There are six national calf finals with €1,000 up for grabs in each. There is a €500 prize for the winner of each class.

There is a three-judge system in place, with judges from the Irish Aberdeen Angus Association, the Irish Angus Cattle Society and an international judge. The three judges operate independently, with a scrutineer tallying their scores to decide the winners of the respective classes. While full details of the judges for the breed have not yet been released, a Canadian judge has been confirmed as one of the three.

Third year for Salers calf finals

The Salers Cattle Society of Ireland returns to Tullamore to host its all-Ireland calf championship for the third year. There are four classes with a total of €2,000 up for grabs. The first in each class will receive €200 but perhaps even more enticing for breeders is that the overall calf champion will secure a much sought-after Tullamore Show gold medal.

Galloways to appear at Tullamore

This year’s Tullamore Show will be the very first year that Galloway and Belted Galloway cattle will appear in Blueball. The Scottish breed is identified by its long wavy coarse hair, and for Belted Galloway the noticeable white stripe around its middle. A total of four classes will be added for the breed, each carrying a prize fund of €220. The classes are as follows: male or female born after 1 August 2018, maiden heifer, senior cow and senior bull.

Three gold medals in dairy section

The dairy section of the Tullamore Show & FBD National Livestock Show hosts the crème de la crème of dairy cattle across three breeds – Holstein Friesian, Jersey and Dairy Shorthorn. Over €30,000 in prize money is up for grabs in this section across almost 40 classes.

To encourage dairy farmers of the future, there will be six young handler classes across three breeds. These classes account for all age groups.

Confined classes are held at the show for members of Offaly-Laois Holstein Friesian Breeders Associations and Westmeath Holstein Friesian Breeders Association.

The dairy cattle rings are expected to attract large numbers of spectators when they once again host their two €2,500 classes. First of the classes to attract this money is the super national in-milk heifer championship. This section has always attracted stiff competition, with many top classified young first-calvers making their way to the showgrounds, some for the show debut. The senior cow in-milk class also draws a prize fund of €2,500. This class always draws in large numbers, with many using it as a starting show on their track to the €10,000 Baileys cow competition later in the month. With the good turnout of dairy cattle at summer shows already this summer, this stands as the pinnacle of it all to date so numbers are expected to be big.

There are three FBD national livestock champions of the show. The winner and runner up of these championships will be awarded gold and silver medals and shown in the ring at the Parade of Champions.

Head of dairy section Tommy Finlay is a veteran of the Tullamore Show and has been involved since the first show was held in 1991. Tommy has a keen eye for cattle, running his own dairy farm for many years.