Sun-Soaked Ploughing Championships backed to break records

Irish punters are anticipating a record-breaking Ploughing Championships this week as BoyleSports offered odds of just 5/1 that the hottest September day on record is clocked during the three-day event. 

Last year’s championships were hit by persistent rainfall and falling attendances, however picnic blankets and suncream were the order of the day as attendees basked in sunshine as they flocked to Ratheniska in County Laois for Tuesday’s opening day. 

The highest ever Irish temperature in September was recorded in nearby County Kildare, with the mercury rising to 29.1°C way back in 1906, but Met Éireann is forecasting heatwave conditions this week with high pressure and sunshine here to stay for the rest of the week. 

When Covid restrictions were lifted in 2022, a record 115,000 passed through the gates on the second day of the event and it’s an odds-on shot at 4/6 that this week’s good weather and rising demand for tickets sees that record broken on any single day, but that’s not the only record in sight. 

Last year a Guinness world record was smashed when 995 people gathered to throw a single welly at the same time and odds of even money on that figure being surpassed this week suggests the 2024 event could be another one for the history books

A spokesperson for BoyleSports said: “A week of sunshine is just what the Ploughing Championships needed and with wellies and temperatures potentially hitting new heights, a few records are up in the air too.”