The shows must go on
Michael Flanagan, chairman of the Athlone Show Society, believes many rural agricultural shows face an uncertain future, reports
AS the busy Summer season of rural agricultural shows gets into full swing this week, Michael Flanagan knows how prized those red rosettes are and the months of hard work by exhibitors and organisers that goes into the annual ‘festival’ of rural agricultural shows.
The Mayo native remembers “going to the local shows at Crossmolina and Ballina with my late father, John Flanagan over fifty years ago” and the sense of achievement and joy at getting the nod of favour from the judge.
“I was only 11 or 12 years of age when I was going to the agricultural shows. My father kept pedigree Angus and Shorthorn. The local show was a very big event in the local community and I grew up showing cattle each year” he recalls.
The Moylaw Angus/Shorthorn Herd became well known in the show rings in the northwest where they were regular award winners.
That love of trying to produce the best and the satisfaction of having a prizewinner has never left him and continues to manifest itself today in the show ring success of the Moydrum Castle Pedigree Herds.
He established the herds near Athlone in 1985 with the stated ambition “to continue the Angus/Shorthorn breeding tradition carried on by my late father, to produce what is best in the Angus and Shorthorn breeds, both males and females”.
He fondly remembers, the foundation Angus cow of the Co Westmeath herd, Laheens Betty, winner of 26 Breed Championships and five interbreed Championships and dam of some tremendous males and females.
“Her daughter, Moydrum Lady Heather 2nd was very successful as well. She was a tremendous show cow.
“She won 36 Breed Championships and 11 Interbreed Championships, but she did not breed very well — she did not produce many winners. She bred one bull out of 10-12 calvings and at a show in Nenagh a farmer asked him for a bull out of her.
“I told him that she was in calf. She had a bull calf and he bought him. He bred some excellent stock. His breeding was going back for years. He was a real traditional Irish Angus and he bred some terrific stock
“We had another of the breed, Lady Heather 5th. She won the Junior All Ireland Championship at Strokestown and the following year went on to win the senior all Ireland Championship and was sold for the record price at the time for an Angus Heifer £6,000 (€7,620) to Richard Cruise, Co Mayo,” says Michael.
“I remember when the blow driers and the generators arrived on the scene at the shows.
“I remember going to Trim Show a long time ago and I had a generator and a blow drier working off it and there were more people looking at me than watching the judging of the cattle in the ring.
“It was one of the first times they had seen it being used and they were marvelling what was going to come next.
“Today the time and preparation that goes into showing livestock is immense,” he says.
In recent years his long family tradition with rural agricultural shows has blossomed into involvement with his local community in the running of Athlone Agricultural Show which has been held annually for more than a century and a half.
Michael is currently chairman of the Athlone Show Society and deeply immersed in the arrangements for this year’s show taking place on Sunday June 26 at their excellent grounds adjacent to the M6.
A believer that shows have to be open to new ideas and attractions, this year the programme will include a “Breeders Musical Chairs” for a prize fund of €400 sponsored by Univet Irl Ltd.
“It should be a bit of a laugh after a hard days showing and the rewards are excellent thanks to our generous sponsor,” he says.
Asked what is the greatest difficulty facing rural shows, he has no hesitation “it is getting sponsorship” which has become very difficult.
“The lack of sponsorship is a huge, huge threat to the survival of the rural agricultural show.
“It is their life blood, because they are depending on sponsorship support to keep going. It is costing us €100,000 and it is run by a team of volunteers,” he says.
“I remember in the boom years the only question they would ask is ‘How much do you want’.
“Now it is a very different story. It is getting much harder to get a commitment on sponsorship — it is a real challenge — and any show lucky enough to have a good sponsor should look after them very well, because they are getting very scarce,” he adds.
“I’d hate to see the rural shows not surviving, but it is becoming a real tough job to keep going.
“I would love to be at a cross road somewhere in a rural setting and with the committee that I have we’d run a fabulous show, but it is more difficult in a location like Athlone which is neither urban or rural, and it makes the job harder,” he stresses.
Michael feels that the rural agricultural shows are facing a few tough years and many will have to battle for their economic survival, but they still have a very important role in rural communities “and I’d be sorry to see them go”.
Apart from the exhibitors in all of the categories from livestock to horses, sheep, cookery, farm produce and horticulture, they are the ideal place for the small local business to show what they are doing and show what they have to offer.
He warns that “unless the shows get sponsorship they won’t be able to survive financially” and another long standing rural tradition will die.
THE LACK OF SPONSORSHIP IS A HUGE THREAT — I’D HATE TO SEE THE RURAL SHOW NOT SURVIVING, BUT IT IS BECOMING A REAL TOUGH JOB TO KEEP GOING