MANY tributes have been paid throughout political circles and the west of Ireland to Mayo TD Michael Ring, who announced on Wednesday that he would be stepping down at the next general election.

Widely lauded as a campaigner for rural Ireland and his promotion of major tourism projects, such as The Gathering and Wild Atlantic Way, Ring was a frequent poll-topper since first elected to Dáil Éireann 30 years ago.

He served as Minister of State for Sport, overseeing a €40m sports capital programme in 2015 and on the Joint Committee for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Ring also delivered funding for Ireland’s agricultural shows, an initiative the newly-elected Minister for Rural and Community Development first suggested at the Louisburgh Horse Show in 2017.

The first round of funding was delivered in 2018 and the Department has now allocated €4.3 million to agricultural shows, overseen by the Irish Shows Association (ISA).

“It was a difficult decision, but I’m not looking back, I’m looking forward,” Ring told The Irish Field this week about his decision to step back from political life.

“I did my best over the years, I said what I said and I met many great people. Like the agricultural shows, all run by volunteers trying to keep shows and rural Ireland alive.

“We lost too many shows and I’m delighted to have started that funding. Only that we put the funding in place, some of the shows were finished.”

Ring attended the Louisburgh Horse Show dinner dance in February, when he spoke about the negative impact of social media. “Social media has destroyed the world, not just politics,” he repeated this week. “You wouldn’t get up in the morning if you looked at some of it. It’s not fair on families. Uncontrolled media is a problem, there needs to be some control and serious consequences for malicious posts.”

The popular Mayo TD will perform the official opening of Clarecastle Show next Sunday, August 11th, when the McCarthy Cup and some of the Banner County’s All-Ireland hurling final team members will also be present.

“I’m very much looking forward to Clarecastle,” added Ring.

ISA president Ray Brady paid tribute to the Westport native, saying: “The ISA are extremely thankful to Michael Ring for his foresight and support in relation to funding for shows. This package, which has been topped up and extended by Minister Heather Humphreys, has proved to help sustain and indeed, grow member shows, ensuring a future for the showing community.”