Ploughing Championships: World record broken for wellies thrown at same time

Some feat: Macra na Feirme says 995 people created new Guinness world record at Co Laois event

Wellies flying through the air at the National Ploughing Championships, Ratheniska, Co Laois. Photograph: Macra na Feirme

Hundreds of people at the National Ploughing Championships have broken the Guinness world record for the most amount of wellington boots being thrown simultaneously, Macra na Feirme said.

The sun came out in Ratheniska, Co Laois for day two of the annual Ploughing Championships. Video: Bryan O'Brien

Eilean Houlihan, president of Macra na Feirme, said 995 people, including the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, took part in the effort at the ploughing championships at Ratheniska, Co Laois.

The former record was registered at the Holsworthy and Stratton Show in Holsworthy in the United Kingdom in 2018, where 792 took part in the wellie throwing.

An overhead photograph of the crowd assembled for the wellington boots throw at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Co Laois. Photograph: Macra na Feirme

Macra na Feirme, which led the record attempt, recruited people from the walkways of the event site. One of these was Rose Connolly, from Co Tipperary, who said that she’d never been part of a world record attempt before. “It’s a good bit of craic,” she said.

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Announcing the record-breaking feat, Macra na Feirme said: “At the signal participants launched their wellington boots into the air in unison. Hundreds of wellingtons flew through the air, which was a sight to behold in itself.”

In the statement Ms Houlihan said: “It is hard to find the words to express how it feels to have broken this record. The atmosphere here today was beyond imagination with everyone coming together to break the Guinness World Record. It is a true testament to everyone here at the ploughing who backed Macra in our world record attempt.”

Macra has adhered to the Guinness World Record rules for record attempts and will submit its evidence to Guinness World Records to have the attempt verified, the statement added.

Fiachra Gallagher

Fiachra Gallagher

Fiachra Gallagher is an Irish Times journalist