NEWLY-appointed Minister for Community and Rural Affairs Michael Ring aims to support agricultural shows through a potential scheme based on the success of The Gathering. The Mayo TD was speaking at Louisburgh Show, where he performed the official opening of the show, revived in 2007 having previously lapsed.

While larger agricultural shows, particularly those in well-populated hinterlands, are thriving, a number of other shows are struggling, due to small crowds and lack of volunteer help. The issue of annual shows being weather-dependent was referred to by both Ring and Minister of State for Agriculture Andrew Doyle, speaking at his own local show Carnew the previous day.

“A lot of the shows are finding it difficult at the moment. What really kills the show is if they have a bad year or two bad years [weatherwise], then their funding is in difficulty. If they get good weather, they don’t want a lot of funding because they’ll be able to raise it on the day; if they get bad weather then it creates a problem” said the Minister at Louisburgh, where he also pledged to ‘rural proof any legislation that comes through that cabinet table.”

He cited the example of the phenomenally successful The Gathering held in 2013, during his term as Minister of State for Sport and Tourism. Over 5,000 events were organised by voluntary groups back then in a bid to attract Irish emigrants and their descendants. Referring to his previous tourism portfolio, Ring said: “Before, I had sat down with the local authorities, Irish Public Bodies and my own Department and we put up some money for festivals and events like this. Then there was The Gathering, it was a great initiative.”

“I think its something we need to look at again for a year or two. I would certainly talk at government level, with local authorities and with shows. What we’ll try and do is reinvest some money into the shows because they are important and it is important that they are kept alive. They bring men and women together in a voluntary capacity within the community and I’d love to see more women involved in shows because any place that women are involved - they put shows together, they keep football clubs together, they keep organisations together. Give a woman a job to do and she’ll do it well. That’s why I’d like to see young and not-so-young people involved too, so that they’ll hand on the baton when the time comes.

“Look at today; it’s grand to see the visitors coming in. They’re [shows] part of our tradition, part of rural life and particularly at a beautiful show like this” he said at Louisburgh, set on the Wild Atlantic Way, another tourism success story championed by the Mayo minister.

“The issue of agricultural shows is something that I am looking at and it will be determined by next year’s budget that I have within my Department,” he added.