World Ploughing Championship (1959)

From the collection of

Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive
Launched in 2000, Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive spans from 1897 to the present day and currently contains an ever-expanding catalogue of 13,000 items. It comprises material from a variety of depositors including feature films, sport, documentaries, animation, amateur footage, light entertainment, and a significant proportion of broadcast material from the UTV Archive.

World Ploughing Championship (1959)


Who will reign world supreme and win the coveted golden plough?

A local field in Armoy becomes an international stage where the precise art of ploughing unfolds under the watchful eyes of judges in white coats on patrol. NI's Lawrence Mc Millan wins the illustrious Golden Plough on home soil astride his Ransomes trail plough. The farmer's son from Dundonald believes the secret to becoming world champion is that he constantly strives to improve. This film immortalises an early triumph in a career spanning more than seventy years.

These rushes show the first time that Northern Ireland were hosts, they would go on to produce seven world champions. Competing along with Northern Ireland for the 1959 Championship were teams from Belgium, Canada, Great Britain, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Holland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, USA, New Zealand, Austria, and Australia. The runner up was Charles Bonney from Canada. The trophy immortalises the humble 18th Century Norfolk plough. If you visit Armoy you can see a replica of the Golden Plough, with inscribed stones from each of the participating countries, commemorating the 1959 Championship.


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