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WIND and, as the day wore on, driving rain, failed to dampen spirits at the South Kerry Ploughing Championships and Harvest Show.

Fleming’s Farm, at Grenagh, Fossa, morphed into a pop-up town from morning onwards today with a colourful tented metropolis springing up in spite of gusty blasts from the east.

A spirit of neighbourliness and the old-style meitheal prevailed with many hands making light work when it came to erecting stands, and shelter offered to organisations whose marquee may have failed to rise or been blown about.

As Killarney Advertiser caught up with visitors and volunteers, we found good cheer to be the order of the day with banter flowing along with the ever-present cuppa.

The ploughing event has, since it started three years ago, already helped to generate in excess of €60,000 for local organisations and there was a hugely positive and sizeable presence onsite from this year’s beneficiaries, the Kerry branch of the Irish Kidney Association, Down Syndrome Kerry, the Irish Pilgrimage Trust and the Kerry-Cork Health Link Bus.

The championships are organised by the Killarney Valley Classic and Vintage Club and this year featured chose on 200 trade stands, traditional and modern method ploughing demonstrations, sheep dog trials, sheep shearing competitions, harvesting demos, machinery showcases and traditional farm practice exhibitions.