The fine weather over the weekend helped to attract large crowds to the 76th Kingdom County Show in Co. Kerry.

The two-day event, which is among the longest running agricultural shows in Ireland, took place on Saturday and Sunday (May 10-11) at the Ballymacthomas showgrounds, close to Tralee.

Thousands of euro in prize money was on offer across a range of showing classes for cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and ponies.

Kingdom County Show secretary, Shannon O'Mahony told Agriland that numbers attending across the two days were up on 2025.

The organising committee had been concerned that the Munster Senior Football Final, held in Killarney on Sunday, would impact numbers.

However, the match between Kerry and Cork, which was also broadcast on a big screen at the show, resulted in a more steady flow of people on Sunday and contributed to Saturday being busier than last year.

O'Mahony praised the "hard work" of the small organising committee and thanked title sponsors Lee Strand and Kerry Dairy Ireland (KDI) for their ongoing support for the show.

Cattle

Up to 100 cattle were entered across the dairy and beef classes at this year's Kingdom County Show, with some animals making their debut in the show ring.

Diarmuid Murphy from Innishannon, Co. Cork was the judge in the dairy ring.

He chose Euro Showtime Merrill exhibited by Daniel and Emer Curtin, Listowel, Co. Kerry as Supreme Dairy Champion.

In the beef ring, Sarah McElligott of Asdee, Co. Kerry was this year's judge.

She selected the commercial champion winner, a Belgian Blue cross named Bonnie, exhibited by Pat and Michael Roseingrave, Crusheen, Co. Clare as Overall Beef Champion of the Show.

Young farmer participation is always a key focus at Kingdom County Show, with young handler classes in both the dairy and beef sections.

Dairy young handlers also competed as part of the Irish Holstein Friesian Association (IHFA) Young Members Association (YMA) Showmanship League.

The show also included an exhibition of the native Irish Droimeann cattle breed.

Kingdom County Show

Among the near 80 trade stands at the show were machinery dealers from across Munster and beyond.

Visitors could examine the latest technology available to farmers including tractors, mowers, and slurry spreading equipment.

Nunan Farm Machinery Limited from Co. Limerick was presented with the award for the Best Machinery Stand.

Kellihers Mills, based in Clash Tralee was named best large trade stand, with Bits of Wood named best small stand.

Vintage

Fans of vintage vehicles were not disappointed this year with a large display of tractors, classic cars, vans, jeeps and even a former US army helicopter.

The vintage section celebrated the 80th anniversary of Massey Ferguson with a range of pristine models on display, including 35X and 135.

One of the more unusual exhibits was a yellow articulated MF 35 engineered by a Co. Kerry farmer.

Morgan O'Flaherty, who organised the vintage section, told Agriland that coming to agricultural shows "is the goal of long winter nights inside in sheds" working on machines.

"Some of the big new modern tractors, they have an easy time compared to what these tractors had," he said.

A working steam engine dating from the early 1900s and weighing around 10t was a big attraction for all ages.

While a thrashing display with a machine owned by Joseph McCarthy evoked old memories and showcased traditional farming methods.

"This would have been a 'Rolls Royce' of a machine back in its day. Believe it or not, the mechanism inside in this is the very same as the modern combine," Morgan O'Flaherty said.

Showjumping competitions took place on both days, with the Munster Grand Prix on Sunday won by Jack Geaney from Castleisland, Co. Kerry, riding Next Star.

In-hand and ridden showing for horses and ponies was held on Saturday.