10.15pm: Thanks for tuning in

That's all for tonight, folks.

Thank you for tuning into the Irish Farmers Journal's live blog of the IFA's solidarity protests around the country.

9.35pm: protests wrapping up

IFA's solidarity protests are beginning to wrap up around the country. Farmers were well received in many towns on Thursday night by the general public.

9.15pm: Nenagh town lights up

Around 130 tractors made their way through the town of Nenagh before heading for the Tullaheady roundabout and passing over the N7 motorway.

9.05pm: McConalogue addresses ICSA AGM

As farmers protest around the country, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue addresses the ICSA AGM in Westmeath.

Seven tractors have parked up outside of the hotel and a number of individual farmers held a demonstration.

9pm: 'a scapegoat for emissions'

Farmer protests need to focus on one issue to be impactful, said Bruff farmer Joe Guiney, and that is "the targeting of [agriculture] as a scapegoat for emissions".

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at the Limerick IFA protest, Guiney said farming is a highly regulated industry, which makes it more accountable than other sectors on emissions.

"The environment is here because of us, we've maintained it over centuries, and we will continue.

"We farm in harmony with the environment, that's how we achieve our best results. So of course we don't want to harm it. It's the complete opposite to what we do.

"We're here to highlight that, to say, 'We're here to produce food.' We're not here to produce emissions just for the sake of flying someone to the other side of the world," he said.

8:57pm: Over 100 tractors at west Cork protest

Over 100 tractors and a similar amount of other vehicles drove through Clonakilty tonight as part of the national protest, according to west Cork IFA PRO James Hurley.

"Farmers of all sectors are well fed-up of regulations. Regulations are necessary but the pure volume of them at this stage is absolutely ridiculous."

8.55pm: Commissioner on protests

European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski has said that EU farmers have raised their voice to the top of the public discourse in recent weeks

“As a society, we can no longer undervalue our food, the people who produce it, or the land that provides it,” he said.

8.40pm: Farmers 'need to be taken seriously'

John Fitzpatrick, Laois IFA chair, said farmers are out to solidarity with European farmers.

“They like ourselves are very frustrated with all the rules and regulations coming back from Europe.

“We feel that if we were listened to and worked with we could all co-operative much more and make it easier for everybody to try and achieve what is needed to progress farming.

“We need to be taken seriously. We’re in a serious business producing food,” he said.

Farmers are demonstrating on three bridges around Portlaoise and are also holding protests in Ballacolla, Cullohill and Borris-in-Ossory.

8.35pm: Wexford farmers fed-up

John Murphy from Wexford IFA said that farmers are protesting because they are fed-up.

“There’s well over 100 tractors here. We’re here because we’re fed-up, we’re fed-up with legislation, fed-up being treated like second class citizens,” he said.

8.30pm: Marian Harkin at Sligo protest

Independent TD for Sligo and former MEP Marian Harkin spoke at the Sligo protest.

Marion Harkin TD and chair of Sligo IFA Michael O’Dowd at IFA’s show of solidarity protest in Sligo. \ James Connolly

“This is needed. The message has to go out very clearly.... There’s a hugely important vote coming up in the European Parliament at the end of this month on the nature restoration law. It will have the greatest impact on Irish agriculture. That is one of the issues that must be dealt with,” she told the assembled farmers there.

The protest in the county is led by county chair Michael O’Dowd.

Sligo IFA at the county's solidarity protest. \ James Connolly

8:25pm: 130 tractors in Limerick

Gardaí have put the latest figure in Limerick at approximately 130 tractors, as the procession begins moving towards Adare from Patrickswell.

8.20pm: Nenagh farmers out in droves

Well over 100 tractors have descended outside the town of Nenagh from all corners of north Tipperary this evening.

Farmers in cars and jeeps have also turned out to show support for their EU counterparts.

North Tipperary IFA chair Baden Powell said that Irish farmers are fed up with the “bureaucracy” of farming.

8.15pm: An election year

Pat Carroll, south Tipperary IFA chair, said he believes it is a very important year, from the point of view that this is an election year.

“We're going to have local elections, we're going to have MEP elections, and we're also probably by year end have a general election. So, it's an incredibly important here. And I think this is a starting point.

“I think like it just goes to show the willingness of farmers to come together that we're going to take a stance and I would say this is a starting point,” he said.

8.10pm: Big numbers in west Cork

There has been a big turnout in west Cork this Thursday evening, with tractors, jeeps and cars gathering at the Clonakilty showgrounds.

8.05pm: Donegal farmers on the move

The convoy in Donegal is moving around the Dry Arch roundabout towards the Polestar.

Commuters in the traffic remain in good spirits. Farmers say they are here to send a message.

8.00pm: Limerick lines out in Patrickswell

There were well over 50 tractors gathered by 7.30pm at Attyflin in Patrickswell for the Limerick IFA protest. The final number could exceed 100. The protest will kick off at 8pm. The tractors will head on the to Adare, looping the roundabout in the centre of the town.

7.50pm: 100 tractors in Cavan

Delayed ACRES payments and the nitrates derogation are two of the key issues being talked about at the protest in Cavan tonight.

Over 100 tractors have gathered just outside the town and will drive through the town shortly.

7.45pm: “signposts on farm policy turned every which way”

Speaking before the west Cork protest got underway in Clonakilty, Tadhg Healy, west Cork IFA chair, said they were showing solidarity with European farmers but also Irish farmers.

“We’re heading into a very busy time and the frustrations with EU policy is being felt here.

"A lot of decisions are being made on farms at the moment and the signposts on farm policy are being turned every which way and it’s impossible to read them," he said.

ACRES and nitrates were the main topics impacting farmers in west Cork.

The signposts on farm policy are being turned every which way

“We have access issues for people who wanted to get into ACRES last year and delayed payments for those who got in the first year. Farmers flet snubbed in their efforts on nitrates, [Environment] Commissioner Sinkevicius wasn’t interested. He showed a lack of understanding of the Irish grass-based system of farming and the results of this are beginning to impact farmers at the moment, especially on family farms in the intensively farmed parts of the region," he said.

7.40pm: Numbers rise at Cahir Mart

Farmers gathering in numbers now at Cahir Mart, Co Tipperary, to show solidarity with European farmers and express their frustration with increasing bureaucracy.

7.30pm: Mayo farmers out to show support

Farmers at the Castlebar demonstration in Mayo have said they are out to show support for the farmers abroad.

Finn and Alan Petrie from Ballina said that Irish farmers "need to be going like they are going out there [in Europe] because there are too many rules and regulations coming down on us".

Finn and Alan Petrie from Ballina, Co Mayo, at the demonstration in Castlebar. \ Declan O'Brien

Emily and Carl Jackson from Castlebar said they are "standing for our fellow farmers across Europe who are being put down by all the regulations".

Emily and Carl Jackson at the Castlebar protest. \ Declan O'Brien

7.25pm: Donegal farmers gathering

Farmers in Donegal have started arriving on the N13 Lifford to Letterkenny road.

6.50pm: Galway farmers reach Eyre Square

Farmers in Galway have now reached Eyre Square. They are to leave the city via Prospect Hill, ending the demonstration.

6.45pm: farmers bring protest to Galway city

As demonstrations start to begin in other locations, Galway farmers have reached Galway city.

They are going to drive around the city and back out to "minimise disruption", IFA Galway chair Stephen Canavan said.

6.40pm: same sentiments across Europe

Speaking ahead of the Limerick IFA protest, county chair Seán Lavery said during last year’s IFA hustings an “underlying sense of grievance that the farmer’s voice was being ignored” was noticeable.

“It turns out that the very same sentiments are being reflected all across Europe, for slightly different issues, but they’re all similar bubbling away at the back of it.

The economic viability of farms and farm families has been ignored

“For example, the CAP was originally set up to support food production, now it has been redirected into environmental schemes.

“The economic viability of farms and farm families has been ignored.

“All our problems are unique to our own particular countries, but there’s a common theme - that’s why Irish farmers have come out in solidarity with European farmers,” he said.

The Limerick IFA protest will depart Attyflin gate outside Patrickswell at 8pm, heading for Adare.

6pm: north Tipperary 'building momentum'

Speaking ahead of tonight's gathering in Nenagh, IFA north Tipperary chair Baden Powell said that tonight is about "building momentum" ahead of a meeting between the IFA and Government.

"This is just a night in solidarity with our European counterparts. A lot of our issues are the same as what they're facing. We can escalate this down the line if we need, but at the moment it's a peaceful protest," he said.

Tractors and farmers will gather at junction 24 on the N7 at 7.30pm, with wheels beginning to roll from 8pm.

5.55pm: plenty of support for Clare’s M18 flyover protest

The three sites of the Clare IFA protest - the Cratloe, Dromoland and Tulla Road flyovers on the N/M18 - are manned with eight to nine tractors each.

Plenty more farmers turned up to the locations, with a lot of support from cars on the road underneath.

The protest is being held between 4pm and 6pm.

5.45pm: south Tipperary farmers 'fed up with bureacracy'

Farmers in south Tipperary will gather from 7.30pm at Cahir Mart, moving through the town and northwards on the old N8 to the iconic Rock of Cashel to show their support for farmers in Europe.

IFA south Tipperary chair Pat Carroll told the Irish Farmers Journal that while the protests in Germany, France and Belgium were sparked by specific issues such as green diesel tax changes, Irish farmers have much in common with them.

Crowds gathering in Monaghan, with 25 to 30 tractors already in place at 5.30pm.

"We're all fed up with the level of bureaucracy in farming these days. Everything has to be done online and it's such a risk if you get something wrong - you have to employ someone to do it for you," Carroll said.

The spectre of a Mercosur deal being done that would see 99,000t of beef coming from South America into the European market and undermining demand for European beef is another issue of common interest among farmers in Ireland and Europe, he said.

5.35pm: Sinn Féin in solidarity with farmers

Sinn Féin has expressed solidarity with farmers protesting across the country and across Europe.

“Many family farmers are frustrated with mounting challenges they have been facing and rightly so," Sinn Féin's agriculture spokesperson Claire Kerrane TD has said.

“We know that far too often, farmers do not receive a fair price for their produce, which has been compounded by soaring input costs in recent years," she said.

5.20pm: too many issues

Outgoing IFA farm business chair Rose Mary McDonagh told the Irish Farmers Journal that farmers are "sick to the teeth of over-regulation".

"Enough is enough, really and truly. From the medicines register to a fertiliser register, late payments that came in.

"There's so many issues coming down on top of farmers," she said.

IFA farm family chair Teresa Roche said there has been a lot of pressures economically and environmentally on farmers.

She said farmers in Galway and Mayo feel "personally victimised" by the delay to ACRES payments.

5.00pm: Galway farmers gear up

Farmers are arriving at Carnmore Cross in Galway. At least 20 farmers met before heading off around 6pm into the city.

4.30pm: protests in Belgium

Farmers have protested in Belgium this Thursday, with a major demonstration taking place in Brussels where tractors surrounded the European Parliament and fires were lit.

Around 500 farmers protested in Ghent in the country. Irish Farmers Journal editor Jack Kennedy reported from the Ghent earlier this Thursday.

4.20pm: top-level policies

Speaking ahead of the Mayo IFA protest, which will depart from McHale Park in Castlebar at 7pm, Connacht IFA chair Brendan Golden said farmers wished to show solidarity with their European counterparts.

"Farmers from right across the EU are subject to the same top-level policies which are currently dictated by the requirements of the Green Deal," Golden explained.

"However, farmers are stuck because we haven't seen an acceptable increase in food prices over the last 25 years, even though we've taken on all this new ambition, both climate and environmental.

"But all of the additional regulation is putting additional costs on farmers and squeezing their margins,” he said.

4.15pm: “the straw that broke the camel’s back”

The Clare IFA show of solidarity protest on the N18 flyover.

Clare is the first county to get their protest underway this evening at 4pm.

Speaking ahead of the protest from Setright’s Pub on the N18, one of the county’s meeting points, Clare IFA chair Tom Lane said farmers are frustrated over a multitude of issues.

“It’s like the straw that broke the camel’s back, we’re nearly at that stage.

The Clare IFA show of solidarity protest on the N18 flyover.

“It’s not one single issue. It’s the nature restoration law, the nitrates directive, the slow payment of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), all those issues.

“I think at this stage people are getting fed up of being labelled as bad for the environment and bad for this and bad for that, while at the same time trying to keep farms economically viable with the tightening of EU legislation on the environment,” he said.

4.10pm: farmer frustration

IFA president Francie Gorman said that farmers in Ireland have been watching the protests across Europe in recent weeks.

"They are just as frustrated by what is happening as farmers in other countries. “They feel they are being regulated out of business by Brussels bureaucrats and Department of Agriculture officials who are far removed from the reality of day-today farming,” he said.

4.00pm: IFA holding nationwide protest

The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) will protest in every county in the Republic of Ireland on Thursday evening to show solidarity with their EU farming counterparts.

Tractor runs will take place in a number of locations in each county kicking off at 4pm in some counties and at 8pm in others.

Click here to find out what time the tractor protest is kicking off in your county.