Punchestown racecourse is to receive a State grant of £5 million to develop an agricultural event and exhibition centre.

Organisers of Ireland's largest one-day agricultural event say their showground remains in good condition despite the heavy summer rainfall.

UP TO 10,000 people braved torrential rain yesterday to attend Limerick Show, the biggest agricultural event in Munster.

It's been hailed as the largest agricultural event in the Southern Hemisphere with around 125,000 people attending every year.

It's expected over a hundred thousand people will descend on Mystery Creek in Hamilton this week for the largest agricultural event in the Southern Hemisphere.

Agricultural events and folk festivals involving pigs are to be cancelled and dog walkers are banned from walking their dogs in the area.