Sun shines in Ballyglass at Ploughing Championship

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK?Mayo Ploughing Association President Davy Macken from Kilmaine is pictured on the McDonnell family farm in Ballyglass.?Pic: Trish Forde

Sun shines on Ballyglass


Feature
Willie McHugh

AN Easter day forged from the furnace of high summer. Seldom, if indeed ever, have the organisers of the Mayo County Ploughing Championships got a more approving nod from the clerk of the weather as they did on Sunday. Too often this annual event in the Mayo agricultural calendar fell foul of the elements. But not on Sunday. As one man remarked, “even if the ploughing couldn’t get them out today, the weather would anyway.”
And rarely too will they happen upon a host site with such panoramic views of a Mayo countryside. From the high hillocks of the O’Donnell farm above Waterford House in Ballyglass, the naked eye was instantly drawn to the vast expanse. In the vista the Partry Mountains stood majestic over Lough Carra and the smokeless chimney pots on the ruins of what was once the stately mansion of the Moore homestead in Moorehall.
And jutting into the Mayo skyline was Croagh Patrick. “The church is still there despite all the shouting and talk they had,” said the woman from Burriscarra. A reference no doubt to Aine Ryan’s humourous Mayo News story when she caught a fair scion of a Mayo readership off guard on April’s opening Tuesday with her tidings of its disappearance into a sinkhole.
And such was the view on Sunday in Ballyglass that one eagle-eyed observer even suggested he could spot the Clare Island Lighthouse.  He was seeing things.
The top field was the siting for trade stands and an opportunity for the agricultural suppliers to display their wares to the farming community. Among them McHale Engineering and a browse through the complimentary catalogue measured the progress made since Padraic McHale first started out on a Kilmaine street under a humble signage.
But tradition was parked behind him too in the form of a William McHale lorry. Or ‘Billy McHale’ as he was more affectionately known and the man who hauled the humble potato down Mayo boreens Walter Raleigh couldn’t get to.
Others too like local firm Malone Engineering, Paddy Fitzgerald supplier of animal dosage, Corrib Oil, West Tyre, McGrath’s of Cong and a directory of other businesses who fund this venture.
Acres of side attractions too. Billy Staunton must have whistled every canine in Mayo into attending and presenting themselves in all their finery for a dog show that seemed to go on all day. Inside the gate a man with a model railway and beyond him the groans of tug-o-war teams could be heard in Newbrook, Robeen and beyond as they dragged each other on the end of a thick rope. Elsewhere vintage car owners like Padraic Moran from Glencorrib busy with a chamois cloth as they polished shaving mirror sheens onto their vehicles.
Beyond the hedge Peter and Frances McHugh were busy buttering bread and wedging it tight with rich slivers of beef and ham as Rory plied the patrons with copious cups of hot tea to wash the generous fare down. And a few ball hops and timely quips from Peter to keep the lively banter in full flow too.
In a field below, the ploughmen and women of the plough gathered, oblivious to all other activities and sideshows happening around them. Attention to the most infinitesimal of detail engaged them as they adjusted guide wheels and plough socks as well as measuring furrow length. Nothing was left to chance in their endeavour to turn the perfect furrow that would make them champion sod turners of Mayo.
Rural Ireland has evolved since thinning turnips was almost a national pastime, a hard labour toil perfectly captured in words by Nora Brennan in the pages of the ploughing pamphlet. And the clanging sound of Paddy McDonagh’s hammer on the anvil of his Shrule forge is but a distant echo now. But they still plough the fields of the yew plains and a dedicated ploughing committee from the borderlines of Galway and Mayo will ensure it will be a good Mayo day out.
The presentation of prizes will take place in Cheers bar, Hollymount on Saturday night, May 3. Proceeds of a raffle on the night will go towards the Friends of Grace and the Ella Connolly Benefit Funds.