The brave and hardy endure poor weather conditions for the National Ploughing Championships in Clonmel.
The car parks, competition and exhibition sites were churned to rivers after heavy rain. Conditions were so bad yesterday that tractors were used to pull cars out of the car parks.
The major event today is the test match to choose Ireland's contestants for the World Ploughing Championships in New Zealand next year. Due to the weather and the condition of the land, the event had to be moved to a drier site on a nearby farm.
The designated site was waterlogged so that tractor wheels simply spun uselessly and wouldn't pull the ploughs.
A spokesperson for the National Ploughing Association said that they hadn't suffered such weather effects since a hurricane hit the World Ploughing Championship in Wellington Bridge in County Wexford in 1982.
The poor weather and waterlogged sites have resulted in a lower attendance than usual. Yesterday, around 20,000 fewer people were present than had been expected. Despite the drop in numbers, managing director of the ploughing championships Anna May McHugh says that no events have been postponed or cancelled. She acknowledges that ground conditions are extremely bad making it an unpleasant experience for many visitors.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 30 September 1993. The reporter is Michael Ryan.
