Tullamore Show organisers are hoping to break all attendance records at its 25th anniversary on Sunday.
Revived in 1991, the Tullamore Show and National Livestock Show attracts around 60,000 visitors annually.
From humble beginnings on a two-acre site, the show now occupies the 250-acre Butterfield Estate in Co Offaly. “We call it a country living showcase,” said show spokesman and one of the founders, Christy Maye. “It has everything from rare animals to vintage machinery.”
‘First-class’
Recalling the 1991 show, Mr Maye said: “A small number of people got together and wondered why there wasn’t a show in Tullamore in the middle of the agricultural heartland.”
He added: “From day one we decided to run a first-class show. From that show has grown the most successful agricultural show in the Republic of Ireland.” He likened the Tullamore Show gold medals in livestock to the Olympics for breeders. “The most coveted prize in Irish livestock is the gold medal,” he explained.
‘Wonderful’
The show, like the farming community, has had to prove its resilience over the past 25 years. It was cancelled due to foot- and-mouth in 2001, but it was last-minute cancellations due to extreme downpours in 2007 and 2008 that were almost catastrophic for the event – which was then located on the grounds of Charleville Estate in Tullamore.
“We had some reserves, but we had wonderful people and fantastic sponsors,” said Mr Maye. “All those people left their sponsorship with us and that was a massive boost.”
With the expectation for good weather, there are no such fears for this year’s edition. “I would suggest that anyone going to the show go early in the day because it is a massive show,” Mr Maye said.