Paddy Browne . . . at the heart of the show for 51 years

LIKE all success stories, familiarity at the helm helps play a vital part in the longevity of things worth doing. Among the many people who work tirelessly, year-on-year, to help keep the West Kerry Agricultural Show ticking over is the secretary, Paddy Browne. Paddy is the show’s secretary since the early days in Dingle Sportsfield when the West Kerry Show first saw the light of day. The changes in agriculture, horticulture, breeds of animal and methods of farming have all changed immeasurably in 51 years and Paddy has witnessed it all. Paddy admits that organising the show takes a lot of effort from the committee and his wish is for more young people to get involved and help carry on the tradition into the next half century.

“The committee do great work and we start meetings in March each year and in the lead up to the show we meet once a week. We’re also grateful for the many volunteers who don’t come to meetings but turn up on the day to help out. Many of us have given great years of service and it would be nice if more young people got involved to continue the show,” Paddy explained.

And has farming changed much over the years?

“It certainly has. Farming has changed in leaps and bounds since we first held the show in the Sportsfield back in the early ‘60s. In the early ‘80s we moved to our current grounds in the mart and it’s been change ever since. For example, the different breeds of cattle and sheep classes have changed so much over the years and you could have anything up to 12 different classes alone in lowland cattle. Silage is also a big part of farming now, as is tillage.

“Horticulture has always been an important part of the show too and way back when we first held our show during the month of August, the villages were in full bloom; and while the show is earlier nowadays, we would still hope to have plenty of varieties of colour on display, including vegetables. People come from places like Clare, West Cork and all over Kerry. They really enjoy it and there’s something for everyone, that’s for sure.”