Opening Day of Royal Ulster Show

Belfast News-Letter, 21 July 1921

In July 1921, the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society hosted its 61st annual show. The first day was limited to exhibitors and agriculturists, and business interests predominated the day’s proceedings. The show was originally hosted at Belfast Corporation Markets, before moving to the Balmoral showgrounds in 1896 and then to the King’s Hall, Belfast, in 1934. The show is now held at Balmoral Park on the site of the previous Maze/Long Kesh prison.

The Royal Ulster Show

The sixty-first annual exhibition under the auspices of the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society was opened at the permanent showgrounds at Balmoral yesterday, when the number of visitors was well up to the average for the first day.

It was thought that the postponement of the show, which was originally fixed for the month of May, would adversely affect the entries, but as a matter of fact the aggregate is 1,479, as compared with 1,465 last year.

The cattle and horses are equal in quality to any that have ever been seen at Balmoral. Many famous exhibitors are represented, and keen interest was taken in the judging yesterday…

If the weather remains in the same genial mood as characterised it yesterday the Show should prove a huge success. Early in the morning there was a good fresh breeze, which appeared to portend a downpour of rain, but any misgivings which might have been felt owing to this omen were dispelled long before noon, when the grey clouds which had obscured the sky drifted away, and disclosed a canopy of blue. The Royal Ulster Society is fortunate in many respects, and in none more so than in the possession of grounds which, while only about three miles away from the centre of the city, have all the charm and seclusion of the country to recommend them. They command a view of a panorama which could not be excelled anywhere for grace, grandeur, and variety.