Chloe wins national title at Ploughing
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Chloe Daly from Kilbeggan added the Senior Loy title to the junior category title she won last year.Image 2 of 5
The Westmeath Ploughing team 2024 (from left) PJ Lynam, Ger Halpin, Jack Kearney, Christy Carton, Paul Daly, Chloe Daly and John Daly.Image 3 of 5
Christy Carton qualified in the top 10 in Ireland to reach day 2 in the senior category.Image 4 of 5
Jack Kearney came third in the U28 section at the National Ploughing Championships.Image 5 of 5
Ger Halpin in action in the Junior section at the Ploughing.Westmeath sent six entrants to represent the county at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, County Laois last week and returned with one national title.
That title came on Wednesday in the ladies loy digging competition, where Kilbeggan Leaving Cert student Chloe Daly emerged as winner of the senior class, with a score of 119 from a possible 150.
Last year, Chloe came first in the ladies loy digging junior class.
Another successful Westmeath entrant was Jack Kearney, Ballinahown, who came third in the U28 conventional junior ploughing class.
Westmeath’s other representatives in the event this year were John Daly, Kilbeggan, who took part in the loy digging; Christy Carton, Kilbeggan, who took part in the senior conventional test, and Gerard Halpin, Castlepollard, who flew the Westmeath flag in the junior B plough class.
Also on this year’s team was Senator Paul Daly, but unfortunately, Paul was unwell on the day and did not participate.
PJ Lynam, of the Westmeath Ploughing Association, who is also assistant managing director of the National Ploughing Championships, said Westmeath would like to see some new talent emerging, and said the county can help interested people to get started.
“A lot of people will have tractors, but not everyone might have a plough,” says PJ, adding that the association can lend ploughs to those who want to practise but who don’t have a plough of their own.
The sport was hit by Covid, but PJ hopes that for 2025, if the word gets out that the association can help with equipment, some more entrants might get involved.
Westmeath’s 2025 Ploughing Championships are set to take place in the spring in the Castlepollard, Collinstown area.
The announcement on where next year’s National Ploughing Championships are to take place is to be made on October 6.
After the fleadh in Mullingar led to creation of a strong committee well able to handle a national-scale event, there was a suggestion that Westmeath should consider applying to host the National Ploughing Championships.
PJ would not be adverse to the idea, but points out that there are practical considerations that influence the selection of a site, one of the most significant being size: “You find me an 800-acre site, and we’ll look at it,” he says.