Kildysart Show ‘like a festival weekend’

Kildysart Agricultural Show Society Officers. (L to R) – Noel McMahon (Treasurer), Peter Donnellan (Chairperson) and Dan O’Connell (Secretary). Photograph: Chris Copley

BILLED as ‘the best in the west’, preparations are ramping up for the Kildysart Agricultural Show which has been described as “like a festival weekend” for the village.

For what will be the 82nd year of the show, the action takes place on Sunday August 2nd. There will be a wide variety of classes between equine, show jumping, cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys and dogs. The well-established indoor section will have displays of flowers, horticulture, turf, photography, baking, jam making, honey, eggs, arts and crafts.

This year will also see a new competition in memory of Bridie Meaney. Last year, over 100 dogs were entered in the dog show alone. Bar facilities will be in situ on the field allowing people to catch-up with a café on the hill giving another location to chat while a combine harvester will be on display.

Peter Donnellan is in his twenty sixth year as Chairman of the Kildysart Show. Preparing for the show is a twelve month job, he admitted. “I’m involved since I was fifteen years of age, I’m in my seventies now, this will be my twenty sixth year as Chairman, it is a fair stint. In the history of the show, Mick Hogan was the Chair before me, he was our local veterinary surgeon, I took over in 2000”. He recalled, “I was stepping in back in 1999 because he was sick, I became Chairman in 2000, in 2001 we had the foot and mouth so we had to cancel all shows. We’re going from strength to strength”.

Whether it’s horses or classes, there’s “a great feature,” the Chairman outlined. The Kildysart Show Estuary Way Brood Mare Championship has a prize fund of €4000 and all entries will get a free service whether they win or lose ranging in value from €500 to €800. The Shannonside Pony League is another highlight and this has been running for the bones of fifty years, he calculated.

Looking ahead to the upcoming show, Peter stated, “Our exhibition is unreal, I travel to a lot of shows north and south of the country but the amount of flowers, needle craft work, home baking is something else”. He continued, “We’re blessed with the weather, last year the crowd doubled because we went back to the Sunday, it is a family day out for people, they like to see a change, we have the world of entertainment, the hanging tough was brilliant and we saw young lads that we thought would stay hanging till next year and our new priest was fascinated”.

Community support in Kildysart has helped to build up the show, Peter noted. “We’re blessed with the community and sponsors, the church gate collection is wonderful the way people stand by you, if they miss that they will leave something in to you or drop it in the post. We hold the show on brilliant land owned by the McMahon, Finn and Cleary families which is looking out on the Shannon, we’ve a wonderful committee, our staff are starting to age but we’ve a young crew coming on board”.

This support is evident in the volunteerism, he flagged. “The GAA has been a great help and volunteering to do the gates, we need it. There was a lot of traffic last year, you need plenty of stewards on duty, it is a lovely site overlooking the Shannon”.

Committee members receive great backing from their families, Peter said. “I’m Chairman but my wife and son help out, it is the same with all the families. They all come on board. We have a big committee, as Chairman you have to listen to everyone because everyone has to have a say, I’m not a dictator, you can’t hold a gun to anyone’s hand, you can’t force anyone to do anything. It is a long aul day to start at 9am and be at it until 6pm or 7pm, it is all for a good cause and it is great for the parish, the shops and pubs get a business lift, it is like a festival weekend”.