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Ploughing Championship Gathering in Full Swing

category national | miscellaneous | news report author Tuesday September 25, 2007 21:36author by Azerbijan Report this post to the editors

The national ploughing championships are taking place this week in Tullamore. This is a personal account of someone attending.

Free tea and bikkies from Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. Fuck all from Sinn Fein and the Labour party. It is my habit at the ploughing to scrounge of the political parties as a little payback. The Fianna Fail stand was interesting distributing free DVDs of Bertie and free 1916 proclamations (imitation of Eirigi or what). Fine Gael had Buy Irish leaflets but tents had a bit of a buzz around them, I suppose because of the free tea and biscuits. The Labour tent was like a morgue, with two people in it one lwith some leaflets on a table, another talking on the phone, no tea and bikkies here. Sinn Fein had a tent wher they tried to sell you stuff T-Shirts (a refund on my No-Decommisioning one was refused) books and dvds, not as quiet as labour but no tea and bikkies. The Shinners were a stones throw from the Garda tent which I declined to visit.

Still lots to see guys promoting hemp growing, Gardai not interested. Wind power generators, log built homes, timbers cabins, forestry companies, livestock, farm amchinery lots and lots of it (little kids heaven and the ones I saw were loving it). Investment merchants, property shows competed with mud and traders selling everything from the speedy peeler to plastic toys.

El presidente opened the gig and it was nice to see Sinn Fein sharing a platform with bankers, Fianna Fails Brian Cowen, bishops etc. all together now on the one road.

What always strikes me though about the ploughing is how rare it is in Ireland now to see so big an event that is so ethnicly pure. It is over 95% Irish with very few dark skinned people and the only eastern europeans being catering or cleaning workers. I suppose that is to be expected seeing as who owns the land but it is a bit of a culture shock when you consider what the mix is like on the streets of our towns and cities.

Anyhow I love the country folk full of banter and craic and always in good cheer at this event. Compliments to the people of Tullamore for the welcome and to the restaurants for not jackin up their prices.

author by agrivulturepublication date Wed Sep 26, 2007 03:38author address author phone Report this post to the editors

One wonders what the purpose of this copy? The author day in the life of a left-over republican at a trade fair drivel is so banal its hardly worth the paper it's written on.

Yes the there was tents and political parties occupied them for various reasons and yes there was machinery just like last year and the year before that. So what? Where's the story?

There is room for analysis on the writer’s reaction to the political parties. This would be much better served by an oliogist of some sort.

I think I would have rather see some photos from the Ploughing Champ or an analysis of the need for or anything that what has been served up here.

Would it not have been easier to say I hate FF FG & LAB for different reasons but most of all I hate SF because the party made a decision that I didn’t agree with?

author by Stuartpublication date Wed Sep 26, 2007 07:40author address author phone Report this post to the editors

William Thompson (d. 1833) established a utopian communal farm project at Ralahine in the County Cork, but it foundered after his death. Here's a link to that: www.utopia-britannica.org.uk/pages/IRELAND.htm

Dunno if present day anarchists/trotties/repubs/mao fans are interested in the land as a centre for nationwide radicalism though. Ploughing and harvesting need skill and lots of sweat. Many farmers' children seek out the comforts of suburbia.

author by d'other - Carsons domainpublication date Wed Sep 26, 2007 09:55author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Seriously - why is it every time somebody comes over to Indymedia and delivers a succinct comment on something that is not ragingly political you get these illiterates, who couldn't identify a coherent sentence in an Anne and Frank book, pissing on them?

The Ploughing Match is a massive social occasion for huge swathes of the population of this country, and I say big up to some one who sees fit to bring coverage of it to our free media.

I enjoyed this piece despite its brevity, and I know many other Indymedia heads aren't too far from the ploughing match themselves in terms of background. I look forward to a report on day two and three and I sincerely hope the author of the piece had someone to hook him up with some free food tokens.

Was Richey Kavanagh waving his wellies around at it this year? What was the sex trade in Tullamore like for the weekend? At the World Ploughing event in Carlow a few years ago apparently it was astronomically, gritty tales of queues outside caravans on the Barrow track abound. What fire works are on sale this year and has there been any drug busts in the run in?

Rural Ireland and its festivities need as much attention as any other sector.

author by Etain - Green Party Memberpublication date Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:31author address author phone Report this post to the editors

What has the colour of a persons skin got to do with an annual ploughing championship? which is obviously their to promote agricultural practices in Ireland.

Seriously, if you have nothing positive to contribute, why bother entering the thread at all

Related Link: http://www.npa.ie
author by siobhanpublication date Tue Oct 09, 2007 14:15author address author phone Report this post to the editors

the piece this man wrote on the ploughing championship was interesting.
i like the fact that it was so observational of the smaller things.
It seems petty to attack him firstly for writing the piece and secondly for commenting on the fact that the event is still ethnically homogenous.

Its something that would cross my mind too - he's making an observation not a judgement.
He's documenting the fact that although Ireland has seen a big change in multi culturalism within alot of its spheres, agriculture is not one of them.

?

author by R Mugabepublication date Wed Oct 10, 2007 01:48author address author phone Report this post to the editors

You will have to go to Zimbabwe if you want to see total ethnic purity in agriculture. Not a lot of actual farming going on any more though. What were once productive farms now lie derelict. I wonder why.

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