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Organizers of the National Plowing Championship have said that, in the interest of public health and safety, this year’s event has been canceled.
NPA Managing Director Anna May McHugh said social distancing measures and other restrictions around Covid-19 meant the event was not feasible this year, “it just isn’t an option,” she said.
The event, which draws hundreds of thousands of people, took place in Ballintrane, Fenagh, Co Carlow from September 15-17.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Sean O’Rourke, Ms. McHugh said the National Plowing Association did not want to be responsible for another wave of the virus in Co Carlow, the region, or spread it across the country.
In a statement, organizers said: “With the attendance of 297,000 visitors and up to 1,700 exhibitors last year, we had too many concerns about how we could implement social distancing and the potential risk of bringing people together from across the country.”
He added that he still hopes to be able to hold national closed-door plowing competitions and “that situation will be closely reviewed in the coming weeks.”
Organizers say the economic impact of a plowing event is in the region of € 45m- € 50m.
Ms. McHugh said the organization’s sentiments were with the large number of exhibitors.
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