With just days to go to the National Ploughing Championships 2016, excitement is building for this annual event. We spoke to Marty Morrissey, co-presenter with Áine Lawlor, of Ploughing Live, about the buildup to the event, and why it is Ireland's largest event.
Last year saw almost 300,000 people attend the championships, making it the biggest event in Ireland! While this may be a surprise for some, for such an agricultural event to be the biggest and most popular in the country. This is not a surprise to Marty as he explains that the ploughing is for everyone, country-reared or not:
"I think that there is something there for everybody, it doesn't matter what your own background is, in terms of whether you're brought up in the city or not, it doesn't matter, it is there for everybody. And I'll be surprised if anybody leaves ploughing without a smile on their face, or laughing and having memories and going back down the road wherever they came from saying, 'do you know what, I'm going to come again next year', because it has that kind of a feel."
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Marty's warm words about the event is evidence that he is clearly a big fan. There is so much to see, but it could be overwhelming for those going for the first time.
As an experienced ploughing championship goer, we asked for some advice for those going the first time:
"For the very first time, go very early, the traffic can be bad. I would bring a variety of clothes with me because last year I brought wellingtons and I never had to wear them once because it was a day like today. But then again, it might pour rain. Irish weather. So think: Come prepared, come early, and enjoy it. Just savour everything. You'll be able to jive if you want to jive, you'll be able to set dance, you'll be able to see the ploughing, you'll be able to do all sorts of events."
Marty summed up the event perfectly in a few words: "It's Ireland at its very best."
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