The National Ploughing Championships have kicked off after a two year hiatus due to the outbreak of Covid-19, and Europe's largest open-air festival is better than ever.
Taking place in Ratheniska, Co Laois, from Tuesday 20 September to Thursday 22 September, the bustling festival features everything from live music performances, live broadcasts from a range of RTÉ shows and personalities including Ray D'Arcy, Marty Whelan and Nuala Carey.
As well as this, there will be farming demonstrations, machinery and equipment expos and even a face-off for Ireland's Fittest Farmer, presided over by Ireland's Fittest Family coach and sports legend Davy Fitz.
We caught up with some of the familiar faces, as well as some first time visitors and long-time devotees, to hear how the hiatus affected them, what the Ploughing means to them and what to look out for if you're planning a visit.
The first day of the festival started strong, with live traditional music from the RTÉ tent, to mark Radio na Gaeltachta's 50th anniversary. The sensational music, presented by Music Editor Neansaí Ní Choisdealbha, and conducted by renowned Tipperary accordion player Ned Kelly certainly got visitors into the festival mood.
RTÉ Weather's Nuala Carey was on hand with reassuring updates on the weather for the three days, predicting bright and sunny skies for the first two days, while Thursday would see some rain. As she told RTÉ Lifestyle, however, "nobody worries about bad weather down here" – the hardy crowd would withstand worse for the craic!
Elsewhere, in the Aldi tent, four bakers were going head-to-head in the brown bread baking competition, a highlight of any Ploughing festival. Featuring two newbies and two return-visitors, the four told RTÉ Lifestyle about their well-trialled recipes, family ties to baking and what they love most about the festival.
Of course, it was the farmers and producers who were perhaps the happiest to be back after the hiatus, as the site was filled to the brim with machinery expos, tents of healthy cattle, sheep and more and plenty of opportunities to peruse the best in Irish livestock.
Watch the video above to go behind the scenes at the National Ploughing Championships 2022.
Read more: Everything to expect from RTÉ at The Ploughing this year
