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NEWS
© Copyright 2002 to 2006 Countryside Ireland Ltd.
This page was last updated on Monday, August 20, 2007
The show circuit (or circus might be more appropriate) has been the busiest ever and from two shows in the past we have moved to seven in 2002:
- Angling Ireland Show
- National Country Fair
- Stradbally Hound Show
- Dublin Horse Show
- Limerick Agricultural Show
- National Ploughing Championships
- Fieldsports Ireland Show
We started with the Angling Ireland Show at the National Show Centre, Cloghran, Co. Dublin in February and it proved a useful recruiting exercise as anglers have not traditionally supported other fieldsports but now see the need to stand together in the face of continued opposition from" animal rights" activists.
An enormous amount of preparation went into the Launch at the National Country Fair at Birr in June when we launched the new name of COUNTRYSIDE IRELAND and were very fortunate to have Orri Vigfusson, well known throughout the world for his tireless campaign for the Atlantic salmon, to speak and officially put our new name to the public. Orri is a modest man who works well with conservation bodies and fieldsports followers and put in some time on the stand which was greatly appreciated. The French Horn Blowers gave freely of their skills and energy to help us and Catherine Lawton plied them with refreshments which Mary and Joanne Corcoran seemed to produce even faster than the hordes could eat them. It was a great help to those manning the stand as you were always sure of enough to keep you going until the gates closed and you could wend your way back to a soft chair and a hot meal at the end of another busy day. Having worked on stands on smaller shows with a crew of two I appreciate the difficulties of keeping body and soul together and still being there to talk to the public. Other ladies who helped at the show were Marie and Margaret who solidly manned the membership and merchandising table almost without a break. All concerned felt that the launch was a roaring success and heralds a bright future for Countryside Ireland.
At the kind invitation of David Lalor and the Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association we attended their Hound Show at Stradbally, Co .Laois which was again very successful and well worth the journey. We shared a marquee with the Irish Fly Fishing and Game Shooting Museum and the local NARGC and as always enjoyed the company. It is important that all fieldsports bodies and interests work together for the overall good of our treasured pastimes and a shared sandwich is better than a shared bird.
As always the Dublin Horse Show at the R.D.S. was a major event and a number of committee members under the direction of Catherine Lawton struggled on Tuesday afternoon with the intricacies of putting up a suitable stand where most are professionally built for well heeled commercial interests. Once you have the stand erected and fitted out with the posters, ties, baseball caps, membership forms etc. you can breathe a sigh of relief, at least until the next morning when you are required to appear bright and busy tailed and ready to meet the public which is a pleasure 99% of the time, trouble 1% and a challenge 100% of the time as there are still a few out there who are difficult to convince of the need to have representation for fieldsports at every level. Many well know figures from the hunting, shooting and fishing world as well as Avril Doyle MEP visited the stand.
Limerick Agricultural Show followed all too quickly and thanks are due to local members William Harty for his help and Eleanor Harty who very kindly put up Philip and Margaret in her own home for the duration saving considerably on expenses. It is important to have local support from members when covering shows and if any of you are interested please contact the Hon. Secretary by 'phone, e-mail or post and he will be delighted to make use of you. It's not all hard work but it does take time and a little organisation.
We still have two shows left on the calendar and our first is the National Ploughing Championships at Ballacolla, Co. Laois on September 24th, 25th, and 26th followed very closely by the Fieldsports Ireland Show at the National Show Centre, Cloghran ( beside Dublin Airport). This is a new addition to the Irish show calendar and is mainly indoors with plenty of trade stands plus various organisations involved in fieldsports and should be well worth a visit. It is being run by Nelton Exhibitions who run the very successful Angling Ireland Show at the same location and is a two day show on the 28th and 29th