Spade - Loy Ploughing

Loy Ploughing

Loy ploughing was a form of manual ploughing carried out in Ireland using a form of spade called a Loy. It took place on very small farms or on very hilly ground, where horses couldn't work or where farmers couldn't afford them. It was used up until the 1960s in poorer land. This suited the moist climate of Ireland as the trenches formed by turning in the sods providing drainage. It also allowed the growing of potatoes in bogs as well as on mountain slopes where no other cultivation could take place.