Ploughing 2025

G-Man

Heart is gone out of it... Not enough impressive farming stuff to say it's worth going for farming alone... A bit too much government stuff, make it look more like a careers day..

It gets a lot of hanger on type stuff as overall its not a bad general day out so they all know there will be a crowd..

Buffman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123824719#Comment_123824719

You should definitely follow up on that in the next few days when the dust has settled, they should be able to see on the system it was a genuine error and half the tickets were unused so shouldn't be an issue getting a refund on them.

Aravo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123825721#Comment_123825721

The Brown one was stubble and it was grand. Kilsaran nearby so ground is unreal around there. A bus park was nearby on what was likely an old quarry area. Perfect for big buses. The site at Screggan is ideal but a lot of work need to get the farming element back.

Aravo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123826209#Comment_123826209

+1 on looking to get the money back. I would email them now outlining the circumstance. Let them sort it out next week.

mfceiling

Thanks lads. It was supposed to be 1 adult and 2 student tickets but I ended up with double that!!

I did give the other adult one away to a very attractive blonde girl who was beside me on the bus 😂. I'm a sucker for a good looking girl.

roosterman71

Talk is the event will be in Kildare next year. Did any of ye hear that AnnaMay had that Tullamore site leased for 10 years with this being the last year? Heard that yesterday from a Mucklagh man

lmk123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123826367#Comment_123826367

keep at that crack and you’ll be buying 3 student tickets before you know it

DBK1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123826412#Comment_123826412

That rumour was going around when it was there first back in 2016, then by 2018 it was rumoured they were buying that site and it would be there for ever more, and it moved then the following year. This time 2 years ago the rumour was the NPA had all the hotels in Tullamore all booked out for the week of the ploughing 2024 so it was definitely coming back and it ended up in Ratheniska again! I wouldn’t pass much remarks on them rumours.

Base price

Listening to Newstalk this afternoon and Anna Mae said that they will announce shortly of a venue for the next three years !!!

bogman_bass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123826153#Comment_123826153

is there less stuff or are we just seeing it online every day so it’s less impressive?

Dunedin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123826367#Comment_123826367

be a challenge to explain that in an email to Anna May………🤣🤣

Castlekeeper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123826580#Comment_123826580

I'd Iimagine a Judge Judy style reaction 😁

I thought it was grand, easy in and out and enough to see for the day, the highlight for us was the open sheep shearing final thatvwe happened on at the end. It was more exciting than most sporting events, well run, and the competitors were to be admired for their skill and effort.

I wasn't expecting much overall and I was happy out.

gillamandango

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123819789#Comment_123819789

Got to Blue after Birr, all the traffic for Brown was on the other lane of the road and were on backroads for 30mins+ backed up with the junctions. I know lads left at 6.15am and got in the field at 9.15am. No issues leaving around 3.30pm, about 20% had already gone.

The show itself, nothing there really as lads said, you would have it walked in 2 1/2 hours including chats at stands. I spent more time watching the ploughing than at the show, overall well laid out and yes, more compact than other years, less machinery, no vehicles, no Stihl chainsaw stand which was baffling. Only one dealer and couldn't find him! A bigger number of food vans for sure, more market stalls than before and a lot of the pick n mix stalls, both tools and sugar!

tabby aspreme

Just home now, hadn't gone for about 10 years and definitely seems more compact, got to talk to who I wanted to at a few govt stands, so was worth the trip, the grot and stuff for teens must be all in the one place as I didn't see much of it, was hoping to get chainsaw PPE but nothing there, overall was a good day

memorystick

Very poor show to be honest. Tullamore way ahead. Boarding schools advertising, religious groups, soap stands, jerseys and skorts, drill bits. A lot of scutter at it. Even Cornmarket

Aravo

The schools thing is a very big issue. If the ploughing was held over a weekend a lot of the students would not be there and mammy and daddy would not be bringing them. Liveline today was on about the secondary school's attendees and drinking. To be fair Anna Marie McHugh spoke well. Even though it stated that there was confusion on the wed and some places started serving drink at 10.30am and not 12.30pm. A big issue is drinking on the bus/trains on the way. I did see a few students not too many to be honest walking around with their plastic pints. NPA to look at closing off the drink areas, no bringing drinks with you out side these areas. Worth a listen to be honest for A M McH contribution.

Dunedin

went today. I’m close enough to it but left house at 7:30 and was parked up in stubble field at 7:55. Was through the game at 8:15.

Thought it was a lot quieter than other years. Lots of shite but lots of good stuff too.

Overall, I really enjoyed the day. Left around 3pm.

If people don’t like it, it’s not mandatory to go.

road_high

IMG_0002.jpeg

are the car stands not there this year? They used to be massive and a highlight for me. Renault Ireland used to have a virtual plaza some years.
Are the supermarkets (no loss) all gone from it too? Marketing budgets are under pressure so no surprise to see this cut- it’s an easy save and can spend on much more targeted campaigns rather than 95% tyre kickers.
Said it the past few years I was at it but without all the government quangos there’d be very little there. Shows how out of control state spending is - a Quick Look at the lost of exhibitors and a huge proportion are state bodies. Little wonder the Mchugh mafia keep so well in with the political and media elite- without their massive chequebooks this thing would be stone dead

Glebee

Echo a few of the statements above, seemed like a massive amount of government departments, way more than previous years, some with massive tents with not a lot going on in them if I'm honest.

Teenager thing is a problem, saw a bouncers today trying to get kids to move from a table outside a bar tent as it was evident a few of them were drinking, they gave him attitude before eventually moving on. Maybe if there was more a garda presence outside the bars instead of around the government tents it might help. I know if a guard in uniform was there the kids would not have been supping pints.

MfMan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123828150#Comment_123828150

There was a chainsaw / timber demo stand of some description there I think - Oregon maybe….?

whelan2

Saw a photo of Anna may doing a presentation to packie cahill- a well known angus breeder- both of them over 90

road_high

I remember back to 2008 in Kilkenny there was lots of exciting kinda displays like guys climbing massive logs with chainsaws-I think it was Husqvuarna I can’t remember. Land Rover had a big off road obstacle course-people could queue up for a spin. Just to name a few-all that seems to be gone now

lmk123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123829236#Comment_123829236

the dancing diggers were good too

TinyMuffin

Ritchie Kavanagh and Seamus Moore.

road_high

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123829257#Comment_123829257

JCB- they probably don’t even have a stand now. Looking at the list of exhibitors I find it very telling who’s NOT there- two or three local Agri merchants close to the ploughing don’t have stands at all- but countless obscure state quangos do - it says it all really as to the state of the country and where priorities lie

dzer2

https://www.cgeltd.ie/product/husqvarna-classic-protective-kit

There's a link for chainsaw ppe

tabby aspreme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123829200#Comment_123829200

Yes I saw that, they may have been selling chains and sharpening equipment

zetecescort

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123829236#Comment_123829236

last one before the crash? companies with money to burn

road_high

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123829484#Comment_123829484

I think so. Feels like a different world. Social media etc was way less of a thing so visual shows were probably more important

tabby aspreme

Stihl used to have a big arena for Timbersports, with souped up chainsaws and razor sharp axes