Young Farmers' Trip to the West

John Biggins of McHale Engineering, front right, with Meath Macra's YFDG 

Mayo and the West were the destination on January 27th for a group of Meath Macra members as they set off to tour the McHale and Malone Engineering Works. The trip, organised by Meath Macra's Young Farmers' Development Group, also included members from Dublin and Sligo Macra na Feirme. 

Mike Malone of Malone Engineering, centre, with Meath Macra's YFDG

The first stop in the tour was Malone Engineering, where Mike Malone gave the assembled group an impressive and informative tour of the premises. Demonstrating the company's silage wagons, trailed mowers, 3 point linkage mowers, post drivers and log splitters, the tour offered the group a valued overview of the manufacturing machinery industry. 

The next destination was Mc Hale Engineering in Ballinrobe. Here John Biggins lead the group on a tour of the factory where they were able to see Fusion 2 balers on the production line. Watching as each one rolled off the line and undergoing  rigourous testing to ensure they were ready for sale. This was only one of three production lines, with square bale wrappers and round bale wrappers being produced and tested on the other two lines beside it. Secretary of the Young Farmers' Development Group, Nicholas Coyle described the tour as "a very educational insight into what it takes to put the machines we take for granted in fields to perform for us year in year out.'

Meath Macra's Stars of the Stage

The cast and crew from Enfield Macra's production of 'Pvt Wars'. Back row (l-r) - Colin Burke, Dermot Connolly, Simon Ford. Front row (l-r) - Kevin Hanley, Adam Burke and Claire Lewis.

After many months of rehearsals, the casts of Enfield and Ardcath Macra were richly rewarded when they took home first and second place respectively in the Meath county round of Macra na Feirme's amateur drama competition. Both teams now go through to represent the county in the national semi-finals taking place over two nights on March 31 and April 1, 2012.

The competition, which took place on Sunday February 19 in St James' Hall Athboy, also saw Enfield's Dermot Connolly awarded Best Actor for his role as Woodruff Gately in 'Pvt. Wars', with Ardcath awarded Best Production for their play 'Bad Sunday'. Athboy's Aisling Kearney received the Best Actress Award for her portrayal of Ma Kirby in 'The Happy Journey'. Commenting on the extremely high standard of both production and performance, the judges praised the actors, actresses and backstage crew, adding that it had made their decisions that much harder.

The cast from Ardcath Macra's production of 'Bad Sunday'. Back row (l-r) - Aisling Lawless, Theresa Murray, Leo Collins. Front row - John Kinsella and Angela Wall.

Enfield Macra opened with 'Pvt. Wars', a play dealing three Vietnam veterans recuperating in an Army hospital. Combining humour and compassion with uncompromising honesty, the play follows the irreverent doings of its exceptionally engaging characters and proved popular with both audience and judges alike.

Following Enfield was Athboy and their play - 'The Happy Journey'. In this family drama, Pa and Ma Kirby venture out of Newark with their two children, Caroline and Arthur, to visit their married daughter Beulah in Camden. Their journey punctuated by talk, laughter and memories. The minimal production, relying on a largely mimed set, proved another hit capturing the heart and imagination of the audience.

After the intermission, Ardcath took to the stage perform 'Bad Sunday', a comedy mining the once hallowed tradition of the Sunday drive to darkly comic effect. Da, Ma, Granny, Son and Daughter all piling into a borrowed Ford Zephyr for a daytrip to Howth Head. As their journey progresses ever eastwards, each member of the family begins to reveal their secrets, often to the surprise and disbelief of the rest.

The final play of the afternoon was 'The Pushcart Peddlers' performed by Carnaross Macra. Fresh from the country, the greenhorn Shimmel Shitzman meets the older, wiser Cornelius and is convinced to buy the latter's pushcart business. Complications arise, however, when Cornelius returns with another pushcart and proceeds to compete with Shimmel.

Enfield Macra - 'Pvt. Wars' 

Athboy Macra - 'The Happy Journey'

Ardcath Macra - 'Bad Sunday'

Carnaross Macra - 'The Pushcart Peddlers'

An Introduction To Meath Macra na Feirme

Macra na Feirme is a voluntary organisation for young people between the ages of 17 and 35. The organisation consists of a nationwide network of clubs with six key areas of activity: agriculture, sports, travel, public speaking, performing arts and community involvement. Macra na Feirme is committed to the personal development of members and puts emphasis on social interaction and participation.

Macra na Feirme was founded in 1944 by Stephen Cullinan, a rural science teacher. While the organisation's original purpose was to provide young farmers with adequate training to ensure their livelihood and to provide an outlet for socialising in rural areas, today Macra represents the wider rural youth community. Campaigning on a broader range of rural issues affecting the young people of Ireland.

There are currently eight clubs in Meath - Ardcath, Athboy, Carnaross, Enfield, Kilcloon, Longwood, Moynalty and North Meath. Meath Macra also organises the Blue Jean Country Queen Festival which is regarded as one of the top attractions in the North East.

For more information and links to upcoming events, please visit our Facebook page or follow @MeathMacra on Twitter.