Day two of the 2018 National Ploughing Championships was called off due to high winds as a result of Storm Ali. Thousands of people travelled to the site in Screggan, Tullamore, after it was announced that the gates would open at 11am, once the peak winds had passed.

However, it was subsequently announced that due to public safety issues, the day's events would be cancelled, leaving people disappointed.

It was announced that the site would open for an extra day on Friday, with all tickets honoured. Anna Marie McHugh said the extra date was added due to a mixture of exhibitor feedback and consideration for the general public.

McHugh added that if the event was only to go ahead on Thursday the extra crowds made up of those who couldn't attend today would be too large.

As storm Ali wreaked havoc in the exhibitor’s area today, high winds weren’t enough to stop competitors from actually ploughing.

Tragedy

There was not only damage at the ploughing site, but around the country as a result of the storm, with two people tragically losing their lives.

ESB Networks reported that 186,000 customers were without power at lunchtime, this was the peak outage number.

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