WATCH: Thousands in attendance at Charleville Show

THERE was a hive of activity outside Charleville this Saturday as the town's show returned.

Moo-sive celebrations were the order of the day at the popular event, with farmers and breeders from Limerick and far beyond descending on north Cork.

Effin youngster Ted Egan was delighted as his heffer, named Firefox Rebel, won in the under-16 category.

He admitted he was surprised by the victory - but equally delighted - and will celebrate with his family as they jet off on holiday to Madrid.

There were many other things to do, such as hurling target practice, sampling the local cuisine and fairground rides at the Charleville Show.

On the whole, the rain stayed away for the first day of the two-day show.

Charleville Show chairman Billy Biggane said around 25,000 people are expected to come through the gates over the weekend.

"It started off 42 or 43 years ago. It began with a small show, and it grew and grew. We are a victim of our own success really. It's getting to a stage now it's gone very big. We are taking in 100-acres in the showgrounds. An awful lot of work goes into it. We start planning this in September or October, and we'd have meetings every fortnight then every week to put this together. We have a great committee and this year we are fortunate a lot of younger people have joined up," he said, "We're in a great situation to be honest with you."

For more pictures and reaction to the Charleville Show, please continue to follow www.LimerickLive.ie and the Limerick Leader weekend print edition, out on Wednesday morning.