Watch: All roads lead to Virginia for 83rd show
From near and far, crowds flocked to Co. Cavan today (Wednesday, August 19) for the 83rd Virginia Agricultural Show.
More than 10,000 visitors were expected to attend the show with some people travelling as far as the United States to attend the event today.
The showgrounds played host to a wide variety of livestock competitions, with farmers both young and old putting their handling skills to the test in the ring.
The show's top competition, the 2026 Diageo Baileys Irish Champion Dairy Cow, features a selection of Ireland's finest dairy cattle, with owners keen to impress the judges and walk away with the €3,000 cash prize.
Alongside the cattle, other rings across the showgrounds saw sheep, goats, horses and dogs go head to head in competitions for rosettes and other prizes.
The home industries section is another major attraction this year with competitions spanning horticulture, baking, photography, arts and crafts.
Virginia Show
Speaking to Agriland, the president of Virginia Show, Mary Gaynor, said she was delighted to see the crowds attending today's show.
She said: "The furthest that I know someone has travelled is a lady from New Jersey in the United States, who has put in some entries into our home industries hall.
"On the island of Ireland, we have people coming down from the North and people travelling from as far down as Listowel in Co. Kerry."
The president of the show also praised the community effort that went on behind the scenes to organise such an event.
She said: "The whole show is built on community spirit.
"Some families even have four generations involved in today's show so it's very community-oriented.
"People take a lot of pride in taking part."
After months of preparation, Gaynor said that it is always "great" to see everything work out on the day.
