The National Ploughing Championships will be held in Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly for a third time, the National Ploughing Association (NPA) has confirmed.
Making the announcement over Twitter earlier this evening (Sunday, October 8), the NPA tweeted: “It’s official #Ploughing18 is due to return to Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly after such a successful record-breaking year!”
A return to Screggan had been tipped in many quarters as the most likely destination, but nothing had been confirmed until this evening’s announcement.
It's official #Ploughing18 is due to return to Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly after such a successful record breaking year! pic.twitter.com/7oq8mXNvFr
— National Ploughing (@NPAIE) October 8, 2017
As referenced in the tweet, last month’s ‘Ploughing’ 2017 drew record-breaking crowds to the three-day spectacle in spite of less than clement conditions to say the least.
The precedent was set on the first day, with a record opening day figure tallied up by the NPA – an eye-catching 112,500.
The main concern for this year’s event of course was day two, which was hit with heavy rain for large parts of the day – leading to spot flooding so severe that some stands had to be closed.
In spite of this harsh weather, 87,000 people braved the wind and rain to attend the middle day of this year’s ‘Ploughing’.
With the site for next year’s ploughing championships now confirmed, the countdown has already begun until ‘Ploughing 2018’.