Author: National Ploughing Association

Rep. of Ireland team triumph once again at the 69th World Ploughing Contest.

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Congratulations are pouring in from all over the country and across the globe on this historic occasion as the Republic of Ireland Ploughing team had an outstanding performance to seize victory at the 69th World Ploughing Contest in Estonia.  

Eamonn Tracey from Carlow was crowned Supreme World Ploughing Champion (his third in a row) in the Conventional Class & West Cork man Jer Coakley stormed to victory as Reversible World Ploughing Champion.

Managing Director of the National Ploughing Association Anna May McHugh said, “This is a fantastic win for both men, Irish Ploughing & Ireland as a whole.  Since winning the nationals last year the competitors  have been working hard on preparing for the worlds in Estonia and all their effort has paid off.  They have done their country extremely proud.  Congratulations and a very well done to both”

General Secretary of the World Ploughing Organisation, Anna Marie McHugh said “Ireland have always been highly respected internationally in terms of producing Ploughmen to compete on the world stage. Another great result for the country and Ireland’s global reputation as true Ploughing Masters in their field”.

The Republic of Ireland were coached this year by Wexford man Michael Roche.  Also travelling with the contingent to the World Contest was Larry Bergin from South Tipperary as Judge. Proud sponsors of the Irish Team and delegation again this year are Kverneland.

SMALL BUSINESSES SET TO SHINE AT THE LOCAL ENTERPRISE VILLAGE FOR THIS YEAR’S PLOUGHING

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Over 30 small businesses from across the country will get the opportunity to showcase themselves to almost 300,000 visitors at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, County Laois.  

The Local Enterprise Village, an initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices, will be located at the heart of this year’s National Ploughing Championships from the 17th to 19th September.  It will showcase the best of Irish entrepreneurship featuring small businesses selling everything from Mexican salsa and chemical free fertilisers to high end fashion designers and sensory friendly clothing.  

With some of the biggest companies in Ireland taking up residence at the Ploughing every year, the Local Enterprise Village continues to be a popular destination on the site for those looking to pick up something unique to bring home from some of the best small businesses in Ireland.

A selection of businesses from across the country helped launch the Local Enterprise Village for 2024 at Airfield Estate in Dublin.  These included Leah Cleary of Fore Distillery, Dublin fashion designer Jennifer Rothwell, Anouk O’Connell of natural wool company Olanmor, Joanne Doyle of Enchanted Castle Melts in Carlow and Mildred Tang of canvas tote company Chic Tote.  

Kieran Comerford, Local Enterprise Offices and Head of the Local Enterprise Village, said; “This is an opportunity like no other for a small business in Ireland.  The opportunity to bring their ideas and products to almost 300,000 potential customers is a showcase like no other.  The Local Enterprise Village has become one of those areas everyone wants to drop into to find their local business and see what they can pick up.  

There is a huge variety of businesses highlighting the depth of sectors that the Local Enterprise Offices support from manufacturing to food and beverage, to software solutions.  Whatever you are interested in there is something for everyone at the Local Enterprise Village.”        

Kildare NPA Director John Dunne said “It is wonderful to see so many diverse & impressive businesses partaking in this year’s ‘Local Enterprise Village’ at the National Ploughing Championships taking place in Ratheniska, Co Laois on September 17th, 18th & 19th.  This is an ideal and unique opportunity for these companies to showcase their products & wares to over 250,000 visitors that Ploughing attracts.”

The Local Enterprise Village is just one of a number of initiatives that the Local Enterprise Offices run, to foster entrepreneurship across the country. Others include Local Enterprise Week, the National Enterprise Awards, the Student Enterprise Programme, National Women’s Enterprise Day and Local Enterprise Showcase. The Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland.

Established in 2014, the Local Enterprise Offices are the essential resource for any entrepreneur looking to start a business or any small business that is looking for support or advice to help them grow. Since their inception eight years ago, the Local Enterprise Offices have helped create over 25,000 jobs across the country. The LEOs work with thousands of client companies across Ireland in a diverse range of sectors offering mentoring, training, expert advice and financial supports to small businesses. For more information see www.LocalEnterprise.ie

LOCAL ENTERPRISE VILLAGE CLIENTS @ NATIONAL PLOUGHING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024

  • LEO Carlow – Enchanted Castle Melts – Hand poured soy wax melts & candles in a variety of scents, and also produce cosmetically assessed bath & body products www.enchanted-castle-melts.com 
  • LEO Carlow – Skillet & Spice – Skillet & Spice specialises in the production of high-quality seasonings and sell a range of sesame-based seasonings called ‘Everything’. www.skilletandspice.ie 
  • LEO Cavan – Elena Brennan Jewellery – Handmade fine jewellery, designed and created in Co Cavan www.elenabrennan.com 
  • LEO Clare – Oir Tonics – Moss Boss Tonic is a carrageen moss based health tonic created to naturally support gut & immune health. www.oirtonics.com 
  • LEO Cork City – Natural Vet Company – Veterinary designed herbal and marine based
    Veterinary Supplement line for cats and dogs. www.naturalvetco.com 
  • LEO Cork North & West – TrustDish – TrustDish is the complete digital allergen management solution, for both food businesses in hospitality and allergen sufferers alike. www.trustdish.com 
  • LEO Donegal – Balcrete – Specialise in crafting pre-cast & polished concrete products that redefine the aesthetics and functionality of contemporary spaces. www.balcrete.com 
  • LEO Dublin City – Jennifer Rothwell Design – Fashion and Textiles, clothing accessories and Art. www.JenniferRothwell.com 
  • LEO Dun Laoghaire Rathdown – Chic Tote – Dedicated to crafting premium-quality canvas totes that embody style, sustainability, and endurance. www.chictote.com 
  • LEO Galway – Nuasan – Nuasan, is a Galway-based, natural body care brand focusing on total body wellness & recovery. www.Nuasan.com 
  • LEO Kilkenny – Biddy’s Good Luck Horse Shoes – Make good luck gifts for all life occasions.  All created from genuine horse shoes, saved from landfill, and repurposed into keepsake gifts. www.BiddysGoodLuckHorseShoes.com 
  • LEO Leitrim – Leitrim Hill Creamery – Leitrim Hill Creamery foster connection between the land, the community, and tradition by creating artisanal dairy products that tell a story of people, a place, and a time. www.Leitrimhillcreamery.com 
  • LEO Limerick – Room Outdoors – Providing premium verandas, gardenrooms, bioclimatic and carports. www.roomoutdoors.ie 
  • LEO Longford – Cruach Design – Bespoke landscape and sculptural metalwork, made by the Kavanagh’s in Longford. www.cruachdesign.ie 
  • LEO Louth – Style Ignite Studio – A sustainable womenswear fashion brand selling knitwear and shirts made of 100% Organic Cotton.  The collection consists of cardigans, jumpers, tops, oversized shirts and twinsets. www.styleignitestudio.com 
  • LEO Mayo – Nutri Jellies – Moy Nutrition have developed the world’s 1st ever high-protein, low-sugar jelly sweets: Nutri Jellies. www.nutrijellies.com 
  • LEO Meath – Mimi Toys – Online toyshop for educational toys, games and puppets.  www.mimitoys.ie 
  • LEO Monaghan – TecWest – Produce chemical free fertilisers made from chicken manure as the main ingredient. Products sold and distributed through Garden centre, Nurseries, Hardware shops and Agri stores etc. www.tecwest.ie 
  • LEO Offaly – Network & Infrastructure Support – Specialise in a comprehensive range of IT services for businesses, organisations, schools, and homes throughout Ireland. www.nis.ie 
  • LEO Roscommon – The Best Free From –  Healthy Bake limited is a small Irish business, which creates all natural breads, cakes and baking mixes for people who can’t have the “ordinary”, who has special dietary needs or just want to enjoy a healthy alternative. www.thebestfreefrom.com 
  • LEO Sligo – Jako Ireland – Clothing, workwear, corporate wear and embroidery. www.Jako.ie 
  • LEO South Cork – Bluemotion CNC – CNC Machinery, Workshop Automation, Automation Systems, Process Automation, Industrial Control Systems. www.bluemotioncnc.com 
  • LEO South Dublin – Garnacha – Garnacha Salsas stands as a groundbreaking venture in Ireland, introducing the first-of-its-kind authentic Mexican salsas to the market. www.garnacha.ie 
  • LEO Tipperary – Elaine Heney Equestrian Author – Elaine Heney is an award-winning equestrian author based in Tipperary. She has written over 30 horse books, both for adults and children and has helped over 120,000+ horse owners in 113 countries to create better relationships with their horses. www.elaineheneybooks.com 
  • LEO Westmeath – Fore Distillery – Fore Distillery is a functioning distillery manufacturing craft Irish rums, poitín & has whiskey maturing. Fore Distillery also offers tours of the premises to the public. www.foredistillery.ie 
  • LEO Westmeath – TapiTag – TAPITAG manufacture award-winning Digital Business Cards and Proximity Marketing tags. TAPITAG’s solutions are used globally by over 30k users in 70 countries by leading corporate companies including AlB, Allianz, Deloitte, and UEFA. Our products are proudly made in and shipped from Athlone. www.tapitag.com 
  • LEO Wexford – Sully & Juno – Irelands only sensory friendly design house. www.SullyAndJuno.ie 
  • LEO Wicklow – JTM Energy – Design ESS system to reduce energy costs of 80% to 90% and also have 24/7 monitoring on all their units. www.jtmenergy.ie 
  • LEO Wicklow – Le Paysan – Le Paysan produce a range of 5 pâtés. www.LePaysan.ie 
  • LEO Wicklow – Olannmor – Olannmor, Irish for Big Wool, is all about knitting and weaving with natural materials. www.Olannmor.com 

Certa to fuel this year’s ‘Ploughing’ as all roads lead to Laois in September

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Spot a ‘Certa ‘billboard road sign and win tickets to this year’s National Ploughing Championships

NPA are delighted to announce that Certa will again be the official fuel sponsor for this year’s National Ploughing Championships & European Vintage Contest taking place in Ratheniska, Co Laois on September 17th, 18th & 19th.  Celebrating the return of this successful partnership, over one hundred promotional road sign billboards have been installed at key locations throughout the country. 

To be in with a chance to win a pair of complimentary tickets to this year’s event simply take a photo of a sign in your locality and share on NPA/Certa socials (*strictly when safe to do so).

At the Certa/#Ploughing2024 launch NPA Managing Director Anna May McHugh spoke of how she was looking forward to working with Certa again in the run up to and during this year’s Championships.  The NPA MD said “I am delighted that Certa are on board again this year as the official fuel sponsorship partner of the largest outdoor event in Europe with over 250,000 visitors expected throughout the 3 days. 

Certa will supply all of the event fuel requirements for the 3 days including fuelling all the generators for powering the site, the lighting towers that extend out to a radius of over 30 km from the main site, all the event machinery, upwards of 350 competitors tractors and 26 Competitors from all over Europe in the Vintage Competition. 

Certa is delighted to be the official fuel supplier to the National Ploughing Championships.  Certa Managing Director Orla Stevens said “The National Ploughing Championships is renowned as the largest outdoor event in Ireland.  Certa is proud of the role we play in supporting the organisers to achieve their sustainability goals and to reduce the event’s carbon footprint through the use of HVO as an alternative to diesel.”

Over the course of the 3-day event, Certa will showcase their energy solutions for customers including solar, HVO, Lubricants and other liquid fuels. As sponsors of the Ireland Women’s cricket team, the Certa stand will feature a mini cricket pitch and will also offer visitors the opportunity to meet with See Change and Men’s Sheds charities.

Euronics is announced as the new sponsor of the National Brown Bread Baking Competition 2024

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Final to take place on 19th September at National Ploughing Championships, Ratheniska, Co. Laois
Winner to take home a cash prize of €5000 PLUS a NEFF Slide & Hide oven (RRP €2,019)

Today (Thursday, 16th May) Euronics was unveiled as the new sponsor of the National Brown Bread Baking Competition, in association with the National Ploughing Association (NPA) and the Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA).

Brown bread is a quintessentially Irish product found in most of the homes around the country. Everyone has their own recipe and their secret ingredient  But – can YOUR favourite win the coveted title and can YOU bake your way to the top spot.

The winning brown bread baker will walk away with a cash prize of €5000 and a NEFF oven, with the three finalists all walking away with a  €500 Euronics gift card.

Daragh Lynch, CEO Euronics Ireland said at today’s launch at the Home of Innovation in Ballymount “We are thrilled to be sponsoring this iconic competition. Every week up and down the country NEFF ovens are baking delicious loaves of brown bread and we look forward to tasting all the entries. Our winner will walk away with a great cash prize and a versatile top of the range NEFF oven”.

All entrants (one entry per person) are being asked to drop their freshly baked bread to one of the stores below (all part of the Euronics portfolio) on the prescribed dates between 09.00am – 11.00am. Bread will NOT be accepted outside of these times. Five bakers  will be invited to join the three finalists from the ICA. Two semi-finals of four bakers will take place on 17th and 18thSeptember  at the National Ploughing Championships with the final four bakers taking to the baking stage on  September 19th.

All successful entrants will be contacted on August 12th and invited to attend The National Ploughing Championships Brown Bread Baking Tent.

Brown Bread drop off locations, dates and time:

Wednesday 19th July   09.00am – 11.00am

TJ O’Mahonys Prosperous, 3, Lime Drive Ladytown , Naas, Co Kildare W91P682

Grange Baldoyle, Unit 48G, Baldoyle Ind Est, Baldoyle, Co Dublin OR

Mastercare in Killester, 164 Howth Road, Clontarf West, Killester D03 V820

Heavins, A1&A2 Shannon Retail Park, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co Westmeath

Wednesday 26th July 09.00am – 11.00am

Bandon Co-Op, Kilbrogan , Bandon , Co Cork P72 X275

Jack Fitzgerald, Howleys Quay, Prior’s Land, Limerick V94 W295

Joyces & Sons Galway Road, Cuilleen, Headford, Co Galway H91 A9X7

Wednesday 2nd August 09.00 – 11am

Redmond Electric, Unit 6 WFC Retail Park, The Avenue, Gorey, Co Wexford

Keans Claremorris, Mount Street, Clare, Claremorris, Co Mayo F12Y642 OR

Brodericks Westport, 5 Castlebar Road, Westport, Co Mayo OR

Harrys Electric  Unit 2 Moynehall Retail Park, Ballina Road, Cavan H12 HP64

NPA Managing Director Anna May McHugh said “We are delighted to welcome Euronics to the National Ploughing Championships and as the brand new sponsor of this prestigious competition.  The first National Brown Bread baking competition took place at ‘Ploughing’ in 1954 and it is wonderful to see that the competition is still as popular now as it was then”.

Mary D’Arcy,  incoming ICA National President added “Our members always enjoy taking part in the National Brown Bread Baking competition to find the best Brown Bread in Ireland and I am sure this year will be no different!”.

If you think you have the recipe for success log onto www.neff-home.com/ie/brownbread or www.ica.ie for information on how to enter, full terms, conditions and competition rules.