Key Details
| Starts | 11th August 2023 at 3:00pm |
|---|---|
| Ends | 12th August 2023 at 4:00pm |
| Location | Castle Irvine Estate Irvinestown Fermanagh |
| Duration | Please refer to Event website for details/times |
| More Info | https://fermanaghcountyshow.com/ |
Fermanagh County Show 2023
Excitement is building this year for Fermanagh County Show taking place on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 August for the first time at the new location of Castle Irvine Estate Irvinestown Fermanagh. With wonderful countryside views and facilities, this will be a celebration of food, technology and innovation in farming and associated rural industries.
The organisers of the Show, County Fermanagh Farming Society Ltd, which was established in 1836, were delighted to make this announcement about the new show format.
The Chairman of Fermanagh Farming Society, Mrs Ann Orr, explained that the new showgrounds and new weekend dates offer lots of new opportunities for the popular County Show, the last agricultural show in the Northern Ireland Shows Association calendar.
She said; “ Generations of local families have their heart in Fermanagh County Show and have seen much change over their lifetimes and that of their ancestors. Moving from the Fairgreen and the Broadmeadow in 1994 to the new showgrounds at Lackaboy was a key move to grow the show further to add new elements as we were allowed to use the facilities of the Exhibition and Auction Centre along with our own fabulous Prunty Pitch showgrounds. The Johnston family have been instrumental in their wholehearted support of the Society since 1950 and this has been a very strong partnership of which we are very proud.”
Mr. Kyle Porter, spokesperson for Castle Irvine Estate, commenting on the news said; “We are thrilled to welcome the Fermanagh County Show to Castle Irvine Estate in 2023. The show is a highly regarded event in the community, with a history dating back to 1836 and we are excited to provide a new home for it at Castle Irvine. The facilities and rolling parkland, along with the magnificent backdrop of Necarne Castle, offer a unique setting for the show to continue to thrive and grow in the future.”
“At Castle Irvine, we host many events throughout the year and we are delighted to add the Fermanagh County Show to our calendar. We look forward to welcoming visitors to this beautiful estate.
“We can’t wait to see the future developments of the Fermanagh County Show at its new home at Castle Irvine Estate. It’s sure to be an amazing event.”
The last full Fermanagh County Show took place in 2019 with a scaled back event taking place in August 2022. The plans for 2023 are for a full programme of pedigree and commercial cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, dogs, schools, home industries and with a larger Food Pavilion. The pilot Classic Suckler Competition and Breeding Heifer Derby held last year was a great success and this will be continued as a herd competition for Fermanagh suckler farmers for non-pedigree stock. Herd judging will take place in early July and the best herds will qualify for the final at Castle Irvine on Saturday 12th August.
Castle Irvine Estate comprises 230 acres with unrivaled facilities including unlimited onsite car parking. The large indoor arena, the outdoor arena and walled garden will be ideal to accommodate large exhibits while the lawn at the front of the iconic Necarne Castle will provide a spectacular area for the livestock judging rings. Two beautiful courtyards will provide a great site for street food and music and with more space available to extend the popular Food Pavilion.
The rolling parkland on the estate also provides many potential opportunities to expand the Show programme in the next few years.
This year will be very different as the weekend dates will give us huge opportunities to try new things on the large site, attract thousands more visitors and offer on site car parking for everyone. A shuttle bus service will also operate from Enniskillen.
We wish to extend a warm invitation to all our loyal sponsors to be part of this important County Fermanagh event, School Schedules are being finalised as we speak and will be in schools very soon. Schedules of classes for Home Industries, Dogs, Poultry, Cattle, Sheep and Goats will be available from mid June continuing with the online entry system. We hope that this new site with excellent access and car parking will be easier to manage for all our stewards and officials as we lay down the plans for such a big event, to all the friends of the society and to the public we ask for your continued support and invite new businesses and exhibitors to get involved in Fermanagh County Show 2023.
Save the date and follow the above link for all the up-to-date information.
Our show is 3pm – 10pm on Friday and On Wednesday, 10am-4pm on Saturday.
