Riverstown Hosts County Agricultural Show

The 2018 Sligo County Agricultural Show will take place on Saturday 21st July in Riverstown Community Park. This very special annual event, celebrating rural living, has been taking place in Riverstown since 1994!  “The voluntary team of Sligo County Agricultural Show have organised lots to entertain our visitors on the day” said Imelda Ryan-Jones, one of the many volunteers who helps out each year, “and we hope that lots of visitors, from far and near, will join us on the day to celebrate our agricultural heritage.”

Animal Classes include Horse, Pony, Sheep, Cattle, Poultry, Dog and Cat.  Angola goats will be on display, the only ones in Ireland, and pets from Farm Yard in Your School Yard, so the young children can get up close with all these cuddly creatures.  There will also be sheep shearing and wood spinning demonstrations, as well as a range of demos from various environmentally friendly companies sharing their products that support rural living.  

An additional Culinary & Craft Marquee has been added to the 2018 County Show to complement the Home Industries and Home Crafts Sections of the Show.  Chef Adrian Martin, of TV3, will be sharing his cookery skills with visitors in the Connaught Gold Kitchen throughout the day.  Elizabeth Ann Deserts serving Award Winning handmade fruit tarts will be available to purchase, as well as Driftwood Coffee Cart and Joy Kitchen serving Indian Cuisine.  Craft Stalls include Markree Woolcraft, Auntie Kittys Button Box, Lichen Ceramics as well as Jewellery and bags by Martha van der Meulen, handcrafted from recycled rubber.  The VOICE Recycling Ambassador Programme will also be helping visitors learn more about what they can and cannot put in their home recycling bins.  And if you have ever wondered about setting up a Wormery in your home to ensure you don’t send food waste to landfill, well you can find out all about this at the Sligo County Agricultural Show. There will also be music by Dominic Farrell & Damien Kelly as well as Aoife O’Donnell from Gurteen. The Rose of Sligo Julie Patterson will officially open the Show at 1.30pm, along with Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council Martin Baker and President of Sligo Chamber Fiona Candon.

In addition there will be the usual Bonny Baby, Little Miss Riverstown, Little Master Riverstown, Glamorous Granny, Best & Most Appropriately Dressed Lady and for the first time ever a Dashing Dude section.  As well as free entry to the Show, children can enjoy free faceprinting and each child will receive a ticket to enjoy a free pony ride, thanks to Lough Bo Equestrian Centre from 2pm.  

Obi, the biggest dog in Ireland, will be amongst the visitors to the Show.  Obi’s owner, Jo from Lough Bo Boarding Kennels said “The Sligo County Agricultural Show is by far the best Show I have ever been to, it is well organised and there is always a lovely atmosphere so Obi and I will definitely be joining in the fun on the day”.  Entries to the dog show and other classes can be done on the day or beforehand, with the full schedule and entry form available from this website.  (You can also follow us on Facebook) 

Many Classes and sub categories have been sponsored by a host of businesses.  “Thank you also to all our Sponsors who continue to support us each year, without them we wouldn’t be able to bring it all together” said Chairperson Michael Harte “and to the main sponsor of the day Connacht Gold Butter, Aurivo and Gerry Davey Agricultural Contractor, Ballygawley as well as to our new sponsors who are supporting us for the first this year.”  Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor can contact Michael on 087 2422160.

For over 24 years volunteers in the Riverstown community have been working hard in the run up to, on the day itself and after each annual Show. When the County Show closed in Sligo town Paddy Kenny, a farmer from Riverstown, led a team of farmers from the locality to ensure the survival of the annual County Show.

“I read with interest recently a little history about the Show in Sligo” said Imelda, “and discovered that the Show committee, located at the Showgrounds (& of course that’s how the Showgrounds got its name) would lend out their land to local sports organisations for the young people of Sligo to train.  Well, that’s a good example of what goes around comes around, because the Riverstown Community Park Committee, set up to ensure that the young people of the area had opportunities and facilities to support sport training, now lend their land to the Sligo County Agricultural Show each year.  That sums up our ethos really, as we believe strongly in that it is all about everyone helping each other.  On behalf of the Show volunteer team I invite all the local and wider community of County Sligo and our neighbouring Counties to join us on 21st July for our annual agricultural celebration.”