First day of Ploughing Championships draws crowd of 91,500 people

James Cox

A crowd of 91,500 people made the trip to Co Laois this afternoon for the first day of the National Ploughing Championships.

The annual event is the largest of its kind in Europe with 300,000 visitors expected over the next three days.

There was plenty of music, machinery and fashion in the fields.

Atendees can even learn how to shear a sheep, with world champion shearer George Graham.

This year's event will also see the staging of the 67th World Ploughing Contest which had been due to be held in St Petersburg, Russia in August.

Twenty-six competitors from countries around the world will take part, including entrants from New Zealand, Canada and Australia.

Competitions will begin on Wednesday and continue on Thursday.