Jill McGuinness represented Meath in Queen of the Land

                                                                     Jill McGuinness 

Meath Macra had a brilliant weekend from the 13th till the 15th of November. It all occurred in the Bridge House Hotel in Tullamore. They were represented by the fabulous Jill McGuinness from Ardcath  Macra, in one of Macras biggest competitions of the year known as 'Queen of the Land'. Jill enjoyed her weekend being chauffeured around, getting the hair and makeup done, and just being treated like a proper QUEEN for a weekend. Danny, her lovely escort from Offaly 'done a great job' more than she could ask her. The main staircase of the hotel, was a great spot for the selfies and the 'lovely photos'. She had 'an amazing turnout from Meath Macra', who traveled down to support their queen in the competition. The main sponsors of the event were Tullamore Dew and WR Shaw New Holland Tractor garage. The festival really did organize a 'brilliant weekend'. Saturday night was casino night, it was a good bit of craic. Jill made it to the final 6 in a play off of 21s, she said it was a 'great laugh'. She 'had the best weekend ever' she 'really enjoyed it'. Meath Macra were very proud of their queen! She did so well with her interview on Saturday night. That weekend will be one to remember for Meaths Jill. The best weekend of her life! 

Meath Macra Finalists

Meath Macra are very proud to announce their finalists for the following competitions:

Impromptu Public Speaking, Micheal Bennett.

Debating, Athboy Macra and North Meath Macra will be representing us in the next round of debating.

Bowling, Moynalty Macra.

A great night was had by all. Best of luck to those representing the county in the competitions. You will do us PROUD!

Micheal Bennett- Impromptu Public Speaking Finalist

Moynalty Macra- Bowling finalists 

North Meath Macra- Debating representatives in the finals

Eamon Cassells hosts Meath Macra Stock Judging workshop

Meath Macra Members who attended the workshop

On September 3rd, Meath Macra attended a Beef  Stock Judging workshop, to prepare for the county round of the competition in the coming weeks. The workshop was held by Eamon Cassells on his Farm in Athboy. Beef stock judged in the workshop were; Angus, Parthenaise, Herefords and Limousines. Meath Macra would like to thank all who attended, and especially Eamon Cassells for hosting the workshop. 

Meath Macra travelled down to Limerick

From left to right (standing)

Alan Beirne, Joanna Gargan, Micheal Bennett, Darren Dowdall, Dwane Lynch, Matthew Brady, Dermot Connolly, Sean Corrigan, Claire Gough, Adam Burke and Luna Orofiamma.

From Left to right (seated)

Siobhan Kearney, Sean Finan (Macra President), Ciaran Kearney and Orla Lenehan. 

Meath Macra travelled down to Limerick for County Officer training on the 28th of August. What a great weekend was had by all! We would like to congratulate Alan Beirne on his bronze award for County Treasurer and Darran Smyth on his silver award for County Chairperson for Social, Travel, and Sports. 

Alan Beirne and Sean Finan (Macra President) 

Darran Smyth and Sean Finan (Macra President)

Kerrygold Club Question Time Final 2012

Richie Hayes, Alan Beirne, Sarah Beirne & Darran Smyth of Athboy Macra

Athboy Macra were Meath's representatives at the 2012 national final of Macra’s Kerrygold Club Question Time competition. The event, held in the Hamlet Hotel, Johnstown Bridge on February 18, saw 32 Macra teams from all over the country competing for the prestigious title and a place on the Macra prize-winners trip.

The Athboy team of Alan Beirne, Sarah Beirne, Richie Hayes and Darran Smyth finished just nine points behind the early leaders and eventual winners from the Clodagh Macra club in North Tipp. 

Speaking at the competition, Macra National President Alan Jagoe said, “The Kerrygold Club Question Time competition is a great chance for members to test their general knowledge and meet new people. I’d like to thank our sponsors, Kerrygold, for their support for a fun and challenging competition.”

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'