St Joseph’s parish church in Rathmore

Farmers in Cork and Kerry staged a 24-hour prayer vigil for fine weather last week, as the region deals with an ongoing fodder crisis.

Hundreds of people showed up for the vigil in Rathmore, in the shadow of the Paps Mountains in Co. Kerry, reports the Irish Examiner.

The vigil was held in St Joseph’s parish church at the request of the people in the area.

The unexpectedly cold and wet winter and spring means farmers ran out of hay earlier than usual and grass has not grown enough to meet the needs of the animals in many parts of the country. Over the past few weeks hundreds of farmers have lined up in their tractors and trailers in Rathmore, for fodder relief.

“Some people joined up at 8am and didn’t get to leave the queue until 5pm,” said Fr O’Donnell.

“The message the people want to send to the farmers is you are not alone.”