The World Ploughing Championships will be held in Laois in 2021.
Ratheniska will be the venue for the event in 12 months time – after it successfully staged national events in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
This world event will run alongside the national event – meaning that more land than usual is required and hundreds of thousands of people would be set to attend from September 15-18, 2021.
It is understand that this was one of the factors which saw organisers switch from Carlow, which was supposed to host the 2020 event, back to Laois.
Managing Director of the National Ploughing Association Anna May McHugh said: “It will be a great occasion if it can go ahead.
“We have to look at it in a positive manner and hope there will be a vaccine months before the event.”
The NPA met the local landowners today on whose land the 2021 event will be held.
The association held an outdoor executive meeting to agree the Ratheniska site as the venue for next year.
This will be the 68th staging of the World Ploughing Championships after the 67th, due to be in Russia back in June, was cancelled.
This year’s Ploughing Championships were postponed earlier in the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking back in May, the NPA Managing Director Anna May McHugh said that social distancing measures and other restrictions around Covid-19 meant the event was not viable this year – it is “just not an option”, she said.
The event, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people, was due to take place in Ballintrane, Fenagh, Co Carlow from 15 to 17 September.
The loss of the championships this year to the economy is believed to be in the region of €45 to €50 million.
Picture: Alf Harvey.
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