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National Ploughing Championships cancelled as Storm Ali batters the country

Updated 16:35 Organisers of the National Ploughing Championships have confirmed that event will o...
Newstalk
Newstalk

11.07 19 Sep 2018


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National Ploughing Championshi...

National Ploughing Championships cancelled as Storm Ali batters the country

Newstalk
Newstalk

11.07 19 Sep 2018


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Updated 16:35

Organisers of the National Ploughing Championships have confirmed that event will open for an extra day this Friday after it was forced to remain closed today.

The second day of  the event was cancelled this morning as high winds from Storm Ali continued to batter the country.

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In a tweet this afternoon, organisers said the event arena will now be open for an extra day on Friday - with today's wristbands valid on Thursday and Friday.

The event in County Offaly was twice delayed this morning before the decision was taken to cancel.

In a statement, the event's managing director Anna May McHugh said the decision had been taken with "deep regret" after "lengthy consultations" with the Gardaí, Offaly Emergency Services and Met Éireann.

"On their advisement, it was determined that the site was unsafe to open and, as a result, today’s National Ploughing Championships (NPA) will have to be postponed as public safety is of paramount importance to all at NPA," she said.

She said work would "continue in earnest" to get the site up and running in time for tomorrow's event as soon as the winds had died down.

"The NPA would like to thank the general public for their patience and understanding," she said.

The event has only ever been completely called off once - due to the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in 2001.

It did open its doors a week late in 1965 - as snowy weather took hold of the country.

Organisers said the cancellation was for health and safety reasons, with sustained wind speeds of 65 and 80 kph with gusts of between 110kph and 130kph forecast.

Around 126,000 homes and businesses remain without power after the winds ripped through the country.

Dozens of flights arriving into and departing from Dublin Airport were also cancelled or delayed - with disruption also expected at Cork and Shannon.

Motorists are being urged to take care on the roads with the Road Safety Authority urging drivers to "check local weather and traffic conditions" before setting out on a trip.

More than 97,000 people attended the first day of the National Ploughing Championships yesterday.

Several cabinet ministers along with the leaders of Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin were due to attend.

The delayed start had already forced the Taoiseach to cancel his attendance, as he is travelling to a meeting of EU leaders in Austria.

Reporting from Stephanie Rohan ...


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