Category: News

Speeds of up to 1,000Mbs Available to all Exhibitors

As the first of over 30 kilometres of trakway for the 86^th National Ploughing Championships is currently being laid to transform a green field in Screggan, Co. Offaly into the bustling hub that will become #Ploughing17.  This year there will be an additional 5 kilometres of track to greatly enhance visitor experience.  The NPA are also delighted to re-connect again with open eir as the communications sponsor for this year’s Ploughing.

As Europe’s largest outdoor event this is a major technical undertaking, last year’s event was attended by 283,000 visitors and this year there will be over 1,700 exhibitors.  The National Ploughing Championships will take place this year from Tuesday 19^th of September to Thursday 21^st of September.

Anna May McHugh, NPA Managing Director said “Staying connected and in touch has never been more important than in this modern age, which is why we are thrilled to renew our communications partnership with open eir.  Improving visitor experience is always a priority for the National Ploughing Championships and this year is no exception with open eir providing free charging units for mobile devices and wifi hotspots located throughout the site for attendees to use.”

Carolann Lennon, Managing Director at open eir said “We are delighted to once again be the Official Communications Partner at the 2017 National Ploughing Championships. The event is the highlight in the calendar for thousands of people across the country and we are very much looking forward to being a part of that. open eir has strong links with communities across rural Ireland and we continue to invest significantly in communications and broadband networks right across the country. Reliable high speed broadband is crucial to the sustainability of rural Ireland and that’s why our teams are working hard to deliver world class broadband speeds. We understand the critical importance of broadband – for education, for families, for farming and non-farming businesses – and the benefits it brings in terms of employment and quality of life.  No other operator is investing more than open eir in broadband rollout.

We hope our sponsorship will also help improve the quality of experience for visitors through our investment in technology at the Championships including our wifi hotspots on site. Do make sure to visit our stand– we’ll have a team of people there providing up to date detailed information on broadband rollout for every town and county and we would be delighted to answer any questions visitors have”.

An extended Trade Arena will see the return of the popular Tented Retail Village with demand necessitating the return of the “Dome” the biggest Arcade ever, with over 120 exhibitors displaying in the one arena plus hundreds more located in specialist Pavilions.

In the ploughing stakes a particularly strong programme has attracted entries from all around the country and Northern Ireland bringing the number preparing to plough in Offaly to 368 over the 3 days. There has been a substantial increase in this year’s Novice class bringing the total to over 20 entrants, which signals great interest in the next generation of ploughers.

All of the firm favourite traditional attractions are set to return this year such as Fashion, Meggers, Sheep Shearing, Hunt Chase, Pony Games, Live Music and Dancing, Vintage Ploughing, Threshing, Sheep Dog Trials, Loy Digging, with celebrities and well known faces everywhere Ploughing 2017 is not to be missed.

The National Brown Bread Baking competition in-conjunction with Aldi and the ICA has once again sparked great interest throughout the country as hundreds of bakers from every county in Ireland have entered breads of a seriously high quality, to be named as “The Best Brown Bread Baker” in Ireland at this year’s Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

The twenty seven individual county winners have now qualified for the Regional Final in An Grianán in Termonfeckin, Co. Louth on August 24th where the top 8 winners will be selected to go to the Ploughing Championships for the semi-finals and final in the Aldi Marquee.

This year’s prize pot is very generous, with the winner receiving at least €10,000 in profits whilst also having the prestige of selling their bread in Aldi stores nationwide. Second place will receive €1,000, €500 for third, €300 for fourth and the other semi-finalists will all get €200 each.

NPA Managing Director Anna May McHugh said “We are delighted to be renewing our partnership with Aldi and the ICA given the popularity and success of the Brown Bread Baking competition at Ploughing. The total attendance figures for the 2016 Ploughing Championships came to a record breaking 283,000 and this year’s Championships look set to be bigger and better than ever.”

“The Championships not only provides a national stage for showcasing all things agricultural, but also brings together people from all sectors of Irish society both rural and urban, to enjoy three days immersed in country living.”

Download the list of finalists HERE

NPA are delighted to once again be partnering with Top Oil as the official fuel sponsor for this year’s Ploughing.   Highlighting this successful pairing, over 100 road sign billboards have been erected at strategic locations throughout the country for this epic event which takes place from September 19th to 21st.

With visitor enjoyment levels always at the forefront of the NPA’s consideration this year will see the length of trakway increased to a massive 30km for ease of movement throughout the site in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

At this week’s launch, Managing Director of the NPA, Ms Anna May McHugh, along with management staff from Top Oil and the Top Oil mascot Mr Ted, erected the first of these advertisements. As the billboard went up, Ms McHugh spoke of how she looked forward to working very closely with Top Oil in the run up to the Championships and stated “I am delighted that Top Oil have come on board again this year as sponsorship partners of the event. Top Oil are a very well-known brand throughout Ireland and instantly recognisable throughout the rural community”.

“As one of our sponsorship partners, Top Oil bring much to the table in terms of supporting the Championships. As an organisation, they have a great appreciation of the importance and impact events such as the Championships have on both the national economy and the local community.”

Martin Daly, Sales & Marketing Director expressed how Top Oil look forward to this year’s Championships “We are proud to be providing Quality Oil to the local communities of Ireland for over 200 years and are delighted to be supporting this prestigious event for the fourth consecutive year.
There is always great excitement throughout our nationwide network of Top Oil depots and retail sites about the ploughing and this year is no different.

We are really looking forward to once again working closely with The National Ploughing Association and demonstrating the synergies of our two Irish brands and the importance of local communities to each of our businesses, we both believe in quality and safety, value for money and adding to our customers experience, many of which we hope to welcome onto our new look Top Oil stand from the 19th – 21st September.”

Last year’s National Ploughing Championships was attended by a record breaking 283,000 visitors and this year promises to be even better with over 1,700 diverse and exciting exhibitors already booked in.