Sean O' (John) Farrell

Sean was managing director of the National Ploughing Association (NPA) from 1958 to 1972, which has a countrywide network of County associations. Sean's greatest sporting achievements were with GAA with his Carrickshock GAA Club and the Kilkenny GAA County hurling team, in 1933. He also played Cricket, which was the main sport in Kilkenny in 19th century with 45 club teams in 1880, and who in a revival after World War 1 lasting from 1924 up until 1931, still had 20 active club teams.[2] He was a brother of Richard O' (Dick) Farrell (1903–79) a well-known Kilkenny farmer who was a member of Ballyhale Creamery Coop that amalgamated with over 30 other Kilkenny Creamery coops in 1966 to collectively form Avonmore Coop food brand that ultimately grew to become the giant global nutrition entity, Glanbia Plc; and who was better known locally as the Carlow Sugar Beet Factory Agent for South Kilkenny until his retirement after 33 years in 1969. He was a brother of the well-known custodian of social memory and of Carrickshock incident cause celebre, Mary Wallace (1901–99).[3] He was also a brother of the Gaelic scholar Fr Pat O'Farrell (1900–56), STL (Licentiate of Sacred Theology, from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland), who was Professor of Moral Theology, Canon Law & Philosophy at St Kieran's College Seminary and also a long-time Gaelic teacher at the Irish College in Ring, Co Waterford. St Kieran's College, which is more nationally known as the home of Kilkenny hurling, was founded in 1782 and was the first Roman Catholic secondary school in Ireland. Sean has one son, Sean (Og) O'Farrell, who ran Lil Doyle's Pub for many years and former President of Arklow Rugby Club.[4]

[5] In 1958 the National Ploughing Association (NPA) appointed Sean O'Farrell as managing director to harness its already evident future potential, and to lay the foundations for the future. NPA, a member of the World Ploughing Association, runs the National Ploughing Championships, and now claimed by NPA to be the largest Outdoor Show in Europe 2016. He was one of only three MD's in its 84-year history, where he recorded a number of notable achievements. A national bread baking competition was introduced by NPA in co-operation with ESB in 1958 and continues to this day. In 1959 he represented the NPA at the 7th World Ploughing Contest to Armoy, County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the first time held there. He honoured his county by 'bringing home' the NPA Championships on three occasions – to Burnchurch, County Kilkenny, in 1959 and returned to Danesfort, Co Kilkenny in 1964 and again for a third time in 1970. He attended the 8th World Ploughing Contest in Tor Mancina, Roma, Italy 1960 where he proudly presented a distinctive block of his native Kilkenny Marble as Ireland's contribution to Rome's 'Cairn of Peace' in 1960. A highlight of his tenure was when representing Ireland at 9th World Ploughing Contest, Grignon, Paris, France in 1961 where, in his role of MD of NPA and representing Ireland, was officially introduced to the President of France, Charles de Gaulle.[6]

John was a big man over 6 ft. but he always proudly displayed that photo on his pub wall, dwarfed as he was by the 6' 5" tall President De Gaulle. Another highlight was the Ploughing Championships in Killarney in 1961, believed to be the first ever Outdoor Show filmed by RTÉ National TV with their outside broadcasting unit. It was filmed on 8 and 9 November 1961 for the first ever episode of the farming programme 'On the Land', and broadcast on 1 January 1962. It featured both Sean and Mrs Grosvenor, the local event organiser, and remarkable in that it was broadcast the day after Teilifís Éireann first went on air. RTE Archives released in 2016 a video of Sean as NPA MD at the presentation of the trophy to Farmerette of the Year, Eiline Brennan from Laois, being crowned Queen of the Plough in 1961.

He continued to build on NPA's international potential and in 1964 the NPA sent two competitors to Fuchsenbigl, Near Vienna, Austria, where Ireland won their first World Title. The late Charlie Keegan, from County Wicklow was that winner and it marked a huge Irish International achievement for NPA at that time. He was an inspiration to future competitors, demonstrating that the Irish had the standard and the potential to compete with the best in the World. Arriving home from the World Contest in Vienna, the Wicklow man was proudly brought home to Wicklow on an open top bus, reminiscent of his All Ireland winning bus bringing the cup back home, and who was met by bonfires along the roadside as they greeted NPA's first World Ploughing Champion. That was a special day for Sean, as Wicklow was his adopted county. The Irish Times in 2015 reported how the tractor on which Charlie Keegan won World Ploughing Championships in 1964 restored, a green Deutz D40L tractor has since been restored to its original condition by his grandson, Michael, after 1,000 hours restoration work. At the National Championships 1964, a new Youth class was introduced for Youths 21- 28. In 1965 Esso became an NPA sponsors and introduced the Esso Supreme Trophy which is still presented to the Senior Conventional Champion annually. In 1966 a new competition was introduced to cater for Students from the Agricultural Colleges. In 1969 the Irish Countrywomen's Association (ICA) were invited to give demonstrations in cookery and crafts. This also combined with introduction of the Country Markets as the ploughing was an ideal venue to sell produce. Sean held that position until his sudden untimely death in 1972. The Kilkenny People in their September 1972 obituary reported that he was NPA's managing director, a member of World Ploughing Organisation and that the graveside oration was delivered by Seán Ó Síocháin, General Secretary of GAA.