6th September 2019

We are delighted to announce that Peter McVerry Trust will be back at the National Ploughing Championships this year, taking place from Tuesday 17th September to Thursday 19th September in Ballintraine, Fenagh, Co Carlow.

Peter McVerry Trust exhibited at the National Ploughing Championships for the first time in 2018 and we are looking forward to welcoming the public to our stand again this year.

The focus of our participation in this year’s event is to analyse and deepen understanding surrounding rural homelessness in Ireland and to set out a series of solutions to address, and ultimately end, Ireland’s rural homelessness crisis.

We will also be talking about job opportunities within Peter McVerry Trust, as well as running an empty homes clinic and a panel discussion on regenerating rural Ireland through reuse of vacant building.

See below for a look at this year’s stand and to learn more about what we are doing this year.

Peter McVerry Trust will be hosting a range of events on each day of the championships at our stand – Row 36, Block 4, Stand 692. 

Tuesday: Rural Homelessness Report Launch

Tuesday, September 17th will see our CEO, Pat Doyle, launch our Rural Homelessness Report 2019. The report contains new, detailed analysis of rural homelessness based on unpublished and published data from the Department of Housing, Central Statistics Office, Central Bank and Local Authorities, and illustrates a number of means to combat rural homelessness in Ireland.

Wednesday: Recruitment Day

Meet our recruitment team on Wednesday, September 18th to discuss opportunities to work with Peter McVerry Trust. Having worked with 14 local authorities across Ireland in 2018, the continual spread of our services has created a greater need to recruit in a number of different functions beyond the Greater Dublin limits.

Thursday: Empty Homes

Hosted by The Examiner’s Joyce Fegan on Thursday, September 18th, our panel discussion on the re-use of empty homes in Ireland will feature Peter McVerry Trust’s Empty Homes Coordinator, Aoife Corcoran, The Heritage Council Planning Officer, Alison Harvey, and Senior Resident Engineer with Waterford City Council, Paul Johnston.

In addition to the daily events, we will be showcasing a number of personal stories of people who have been supported through our services, members of our team will be selling Peter McVerry Trust Christmas cards, and a number of staff and volunteers will be handing out canvas bags with all the usual goodies, too.

So please come in and say hello, get yourself a cup of tea and learn more about the the services we provide across the country.