The Cork West County Ploughing final took place on Sunday, April 26th, after multiple attempts to host the competition.
Originally scheduled for Sunday, February 8th, the event was pushed back on several occasions due to poor weather.
Kieran Keohane, west Cork director of the National Ploughing Association (NPA), says: “The weather didn’t play ball. The way the year came, it was just hard going. But look, we got there. You have to have patience and perseverance.”
The lands of James O’Driscoll in Ballinascarthy played host to the event, which saw 29 contestants compete in 17 different categories.
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The winners from the 17 categories will go on to represent Cork West in the 95th National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly from September 15th-17th.
The biggest festival in the country, widely known as “The Ploughing”, attracted 225,000-plus attendees in 2025, when it was also held in Screggan.
More than 300 contestants compete annually in more than two dozen national competitions from 10.30am to 2.30pm each day, while the festival itself runs 9am-6pm daily.
Participants plough with vehicles ranging from state-of-the-art reversible ploughs to vintage models and traditional horse-drawn ploughs.
It is not just tilling fields at the September festival though, with 1,700 exhibits taking place over 800 acres and the three-day long National Brown Bread Baking Competition, which has a top prize of €5,000.
West Cork comes with substantial ploughing pedigree, including a reigning national champion, Ellen Nyhan, Queen of the Plough last year.
The Ballinspittle woman will defend her title in Offaly this September as the successful candidate in the ladies’ category.
Also among those carrying the flag are Jer Coakley, Liam O’Driscoll and Michael Wycherly, who are all finalists in the senior reversible category.
This category makes use of the most modern ploughs, allowing competitors to go up and down the field rather than have to plough in one single direction.
Clonakilty’s Coakley was the first Cork and Munster man to win in the reversible category at the World Ploughing Contest in Estonia in 2024.
In the same year, fellow Corkonian O’Driscoll won the top honour at the European Ploughing Championships in Mamirolle, France.
Not only will the duo compete in Screggan, but they will also participate in the European Ploughing championships and the Northern Ireland Ploughing Championships this year.
Wycherly has previously won the 2023 Five Nations Ploughing challenge.
Keohane says, “We have a lot of silverware in a small area.”
