Ministers for Agriculture Michael Creed and Andrew Doyle, Rural Affairs Heather Humphreys, Social Protection Leo Varadkar and Health Simon Harris paved the way for An Taoiseach Enda Kenny to visit the Ploughing this Wednesday. Opposition leaders Micháel Martin of Fianna Fáil and Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin were also in attendance.

Once the skies had all those VIPs in their crosshairs in the one place, they opened up. A long and heavy downpour drenched the Ploughing site in the early afternoon, leading to sticky moments in the car park for some motorists later on.

But Ploughing goers fought back with unfettered determination to enjoy their day out. They had come prepared, with all types on raingear suddenly on display. Jivers kept dancing in the puddles at the bandstand. Ploughmen kept ploughing. Politicians kept shaking hands.

There were few details on how the Government plans to help struggling farmers in sectors such as tillage, but a few hints that Budget Day may hold some sort of relief.

This was enough to keep farming voters happy with their leaders - at least on the day. On his rounds around the stands, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny was greeted with thumbs ups, shouts of "good man Enda" and requests for selfies - to which he systematically obliged.

Wednesday was not a day for controversy. There was cautious optimism among the record 111,000 visitors reported to be in attendance, and a sense that whatever the skies send our way - monsoon rains, poor harvests or low prices - we'll get through it together.

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Full coverage: Ploughing 2016