Preparations for the National Ploughing Championships are under way in Mogeely, near Midleton, which will transform a 300-acre field in east Cork into a large town within just three weeks.
Organisers said the three-day event, due to take place from September 27th to 29th, will be one of the biggest agricultural shows in the world and will attract up to 150,000 people.
Despite the name, the ploughing contest is also a celebration of all things rural. Speaking at its launch yesterday, National Ploughing Association managing director Anna May McHugh said the event is set to be bigger than ever. "This year will at least match the gigantic proportions of previous years, with well over 700 trade stands exhibiting and over 300 ploughmen and women qualified to participate in the national finals of the keenly contested ploughing competitions."
This year's competition is a warm-up for the world championships, which will be held in Tullow, Co Carlow, next year.
Some 200 gardaí will be on duty throughout the championships and 500 stewards will also be on hand.
Teams of workers have started erecting lighting rigs, marking competition areas and laying miles of track at the site.
The event began in 1931, when two rival farmers laid down a challenge to see who could plough the cleanest furrow.