Pimp my Pooch, a latte and a 99!

Record attendance at National Ploughing Championships

BLIMPS dotted the skyline above.

Like the bat sign calling Gotham’s caped crusader to action, they provided patrons with a beacon for potential destinations in Ratheniska last Wednesday, a red-letter day for the National Ploughing Championships in County Laois when the largest crowd ever (115,500 roughly) was drawn to the return of Europe’s largest outdoor event.

The JFC blimp would have piqued the interest of those from North Galway who made their way to the Midlands on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. JFC has come a long way since owner John Francis Concannon of Kilconly appeared alongside Gay Byrne on a fateful Friday night in 1987.

The local presence didn’t end there, however. Cormac Tagging and the Gormley family from Brownsgrove had booked an exhibitors stand, as had Steeltech Sheds, Tuam, and Murray Timber Group, Ballygar, to name a few.

Ratheniska is rural. The sprawling fields and hedgerows mark its difference to the smaller holdings and stone walls of the West…

For more, pick up this week’s Tuam Herald or log onto our digital edition HERE