Government backbenchers, Irish Olympians, RTÉ presenters and the forecasting team at Met Èireann threw their wellies under the supervision of event commentator Christy Bannon, for an event in aid of mental health charity SOSAD.
A busy second day of the National Ploughing Championships in the fields of Ratheniska today saw daily records in welly throwing made and broken before the first hour was out.
Stewards assessed the throws and tried to protect the passing public from stray wellies flying over the fence.
“It’s not even 11 o’clock in the morning, not a child yet washed and the competition is already heating up,” said Mr Bannon, who had to frequently dodge boots throughout the day.
Irish Olympic hurdler Thomas Barr threw his welly in the ring today, though Mr Bannon conceded his skills were better suited to the athletics track.
Noellle Russell from Laois celebrating her welly throwing. Photo: Mark Condren
Australian man Youssef Kheder, who was at his first Ploughing Championships and was a first-time welly thrower, was among those breaking records in the senior men’s category.
“We’re here for about three weeks on holiday from Perth,” he said, saying his Irish in-laws had brought him to Laois.
They joked they had brought him to Ratheniska to experience “Irish culture”.
Day two of the National Ploughing Championships. Photo: Mark Condren
Meanwhile, Elaine Liew, who is working at the Ploughing this year and travelled from Waterford in the early hours, broke one of the women’s distance records for welly throwing.
“It’s my second time at the Ploughing and my first time welly-throwing, I thought I’d give it a go,” she said. “There were mountains of mud of the car last year with the weather. It is amazing this year.”
Such is the fast-paced sport of “welly wanging” records were soon smashed in the heat of the competition, with under-16s also battling it out to take home the title of All-Ireland champion.
“Hopefully I don’t kill someone,” one competitor said with a smile as he prepared to practise his welly swing after studying the key to a perfect throw.
“It’s all down to where you release the welly,” said Mr Bannon, who commentated as athletes adopted techniques including cross-body, frisbee and underhanded to achieve the greatest distance.
A signature move appeared to be anything from “a semi-whirligig” to increase the spin speed to a “full whirligig”, which involves “spinning around to get an extra bit of velocity”.
The event , where proceeds from all throws – €2 for one or €5 for three – fund the work of SOSAD Ireland, is backed by workwear company Portwest.
Marketing director Steve Jordan said the “craic” of the competition can make a huge difference for the charity, which will this week alone provide more than 80 free counselling appointments in Portlaoise.
Shirley McKay, the charity’s co-ordinator in Co Laois, said: “From this time last year, we have seen a 26pc sharp increase in the use of our services, which are run solely by donations from the local community. It’s occasions like today that allow us to continue the services we provide.
“We know the power behind conversation and as we are at the Ploughing, we are very much aware of the statistics around mental health for people in more rural areas.”
Lucy Dunne, Conor Dunne and Noah Dunne enjoy ice creams. Photo: Mark Condren
Another hot day with clear blue skies made ice cream cones the fastest-selling commodity at the Ploughing this year, with young siblings Lucy and Conor Dunne and their cousin Noah travelling from Cork with their father and grandfather to enjoy day two of the three-day event.
Ríona Tallon (8) and her brothers Iarlaith (6) and Seán (5) ate their ice creams next to a competing tractor with their parents Maeve and John. The family had left Galway in the early hours to make it to the 93rd annual event.
The heat did not stop the crowds queuing for a chance to enter the tent of Celia Holman Lee’s fashion shows, which are held three times a day. The winners of the “most appropriately dressed” man and woman were also crowned.
Galway man Patrick O’Brien, who is no stranger to fashion competitions, having previously won the title of “best dressed farmer” at an event in Tullamore, had made it his mission to take home the prize at the Ploughing – and he succeeded.
“I rang ahead to ask them if they had a competition and they did, so I said I’d give it a go, I put the hat on for it,” the winner said.
Winning woman Ann O’Mahony, of Tipperary, was encouraged to enter after being spotted at the Ploughing by a team led by former Miss Ireland Holly Carpenter.
Ms O’Mahony said she was so surprised to be asked to compete that at first she had thought they were “asking for directions”.
“It’s great, I have never entered anything like this before,” she said. “We’ve been walking around the stands and we will go dancing later. We are dancing friends, all of us.”
