Hard work pays off for show organisers

Mullingar Show recorded one of the biggest crowds in its 170-year history last Sunday, according to organisers.Despite the ever popular Street Vintage Day taking place simultaneously a few miles up the road, it is estimated that some 10,000 people passed through the gates of the showgrounds over the course of a day in which the dreaded rain stayed away until late into the afternoon.Spectators and competitors started coming early and the line of traffic coming from both the Mullingar and Castlepollard sides of the show site at Culleen didn't ease until evening. With the Mullingar 2 Day on the same route, the stewards placed at entry and exit points were busy all day.Such were the demands placed on the on-site restaurant by the crowds that staff ran out of food as evening approached, while stewards had to open an emergency spillover car park to deal with unprecedented levels of traffic.The record crowd was matched by an unprecedented number of entrants in the cattle and sheep sections and for the first time in years there were more than 800 entries in the Indoor Classes.More in this week's paper, including photos a feature article... See pages 4, 14 and 39.