After an enforced two-year hiatus due to the global health pandemic, Kingdom County Fair attracted thousands of people from across Munster when it returned at a new venue last Sunday (May 8).
This was the 72nd running of the event, making the Kerry agricultural show among the longest running in Ireland.
It was previously held at Ballybeggan Racecourse and at the Ballymullen Army Barracks in Tralee.
This year, the committee decided to use lands which they had purchased around 30 years ago in Ballymacthomas, just outside the county town, to host the popular event.
Take a trip around the Kingdom County Fair, which Agriland visited, by clicking on the video below.
The change of venue certainly did not dampen enthusiasm for the show with people of all ages coming to see the vast array of agricultural exhibits. This was very much in evidence with the large volume of traffic accessing the site.
Chair of the Kingdom County Fair committee, James Tarrant told Agriland that they “kept the core of the show very much the same” with “something for everyone”.
“There are so many innovations in farming, so much progress and so much happening so quickly that a show like ours is never short of exhibits,” Tarrant said.
Along with cutting-edge technology, there was a very popular display of vintage tractors, cars and agricultural machinery.
Minister for Education Norma Foley, who is from Tralee and whose late father and TD Denis Foley was a former chair of the show’s organising committee, performed the official opening ceremony.
Similar to previous years, the livestock section proved a huge attraction with members of the public getting the chance to see the animals up close.
The show attracted some top-quality pedigree beef and dairy cattle with many young exhibitors showing off their handling skills to the judges.
There were also classes for sheep and goats, along with the keenly-contested horse and pony in-hand and ridden showing sections.
Kingdom County Fair has a long and proud association with showjumping with some of the country’s top horses having competed at the event.
This includes the famous Rockbarton, who was bought by the Irish Army Equitation School, after he competed in Kerry and qualified for the RDS Dublin Horse Show.
The horse went on to finish fourth in the World Championships in 1981 in Dublin.