The National Ploughing Association (NPA) has confirmed that the National Ploughing Championships will be held in Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly for a third time.
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 expected by many as the most likely destination, but nothing had been confirmed until this announcement.
Last month’s ‘Ploughing’ 2017 drew record-breaking numbers to the three-day spectacle in spite of the rather inclement weather.
The precedent was set on day one, with a record opening day figure tallied up by the NPA – an eye-catching 112,500.
The numbers for the third day were in the region of 92,000, making an overall attendance figure of 291,000 – the biggest crowd to ever to attend the event.
The major concern for this year’s event was day two, which was hit by a deluge of rain for large portions of the day – leading to spot flooding so severe that some stands were closed.
In spite of the awful weather, some 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 for ‘Ploughing 2018’.
