It's the ploughing event that packs a punch with its celebrity quotient as Longford Ploughing Championships and family field day takes place this Sunday, March 23 at Drinan, Ballymahon.

The venue is set along a popular scenic walking trail by the banks of the Royal Canal, hosted by the Delaney family.  Working hard every year to deliver novel entertainment, Longford Ploughing Association has attracted a slew of celebrities over the years.

 "Lucky Day Competitions' host ‘Sammy’ will plough shortly after 12 noon," the association's PRO Luke Casey said.

"It’s 30 years since country singer Declan Nerney first ploughed at the Longford Ploughing Championships, pioneering the concept of celebrity ploughing and raising Longford Ploughing’s profile in the community. New celebrities have appeared on the ploughing plots and on stage ever since, adding a very special reality challenge for everyone’s entertainment," the PRO said.

Casey said that the association's vibrant young chair Barry White and his team, including secretary, John Maye, are embracing a new genre of celebrity and putting some popular social media influencers through their paces at Longford’s ploughing school.

He added that visitors can: "Enjoy the finest reality entertainment as Sammy, Conor and Tyre Warrior tackle Longford soil with a plough and grapple with the first task in the art of food production.

"With horse, tractor, and vintage ploughing; trade stands; a food fair; a dog show, a funfair and a host of stalls, the ploughing in Ballymahon is the place to be on Sunday. The main sponsor is  local family business, P & J Finnegan car sales," Casey added.

Longford Ploughing’s first match was in John Roche’s Ballymahon in 1933. The 1934 event in Thomas McCann’s, Ballymahon, included a jumping competition for entertainment, starting  a tradition of expansion spanning over 90 years.

"The event on Thursday, February 11, 1960, in the Ram Park in Keenagh village is often fondly remembered in conversation as the first farmerette ploughing event. It has been the largest springtime ploughing festival in Ireland for decades now, consistently entertaining thousands of returning revellers year-on-year," Casey said.

"Our special guest on Sunday is Dan Donnelly from Wexford, winner of the 40th European Reversible Ploughing Championships.  We are thrilled to have Dan joining us, to celebrate his recent achievement and his gold medal," he added.

For those within the ploughing community, this event is six months after the National Ploughing Championships.  Leading ploughing enthusiasts keen for a challenge have converged in Longford in droves in recent decades.

"The rivalry on the field brushes off the home team, raising the standard of ploughing in Longford. Longford competitors Daniel Haughey, Martin Reilly, Andrew Stewart, Sean Monaghan, and Anthony Reynolds cherish competitive match practice near home," Casey said.

"Local vintage buffs Eamon Kiernan and the Stewart family look forward to the usual large number of entries in vintage and friends of Fergie ploughing classes. We have lots of dry level stubble available this year to accommodate all vintage competitors.

"Horse ploughing and loy digging will take place on grass. Once a familiar and beautiful sight, both arts have almost vanished. Every year, the horses and loys line out at Longford Ploughing, thanks to the dedication of Bernard Casey.

"Give yourself some time out on Sunday. Step back in time and allow yourself and your children the chance to explore and enjoy a glimpse of life on the farm in the last century, with the loy, the horses, and all the vintage ploughing," Casey finished.