The five finalists of the 2026 Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition, following on from the exhibition held at Croke Park earlier this month, have been announced today (Friday, March 22).
In total, 43 teams reached the semi finals and displayed their project ideas at Croke Park on Friday, March 1. However, only five groups can progress to the next stage of the competition.
The five group finalists and their schools are:
- St. Brendan’s Community School – Jack O’Meara, Moya Guinan, Joseph McLoughney, Ben Younge;
- Sacred Heart Secondary School Clonakilty – Ellen O’ Neill, Lucy Kirby, Niamh O’ Sullivan, Ciara O’ Driscoll;
- Coláiste Mhuire Ballygar – Róisin Mc Cauley, Celine Gacquin, Katie Ann Gacquin;
- FCJ Bunclody – Hollie-Mae Power Sinnott, Grace Warren;
- Newport College – Cillian Marren, Sam Caplis, Kyle Gow.
The schools competition, run in association with ABP and Kepak, challenges students to rear five Irish Angus calves for beef production over 18 months.
The five groups will receive their calves at this year’s National Ploughing Championships which will return to Ratheniska, Co. Laois from September 17-19 for the third year in a row.
The schools competition aims to promote the Certified Irish Angus brand while communicating the care and attention required to produce quality beef for consumers.
2024 winners
Earlier this month, four students from Dunshaughlin Community College, Co. Meath were announced the overall winners of the 2024 Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition.
Students Eoin O’Sullivan, Eric Allen, Liam Byrne, and David Malone secured the win for their research project exploring ‘A Holistic Approach to Improving Animal Performance’.
From the outset of the project, the students, who were announced the winners at the awards ceremony at Croke park on March 1, used data to inform how their calves would be reared.
They used the Alltech ECO2 assessment tool to predict an outcome for their calves of 8.5kg carbon dioxide (CO2) per kg beef which is significantly lower than the national average.
The winning team from Dunshaughlin Community College conducted on-farm trials, soil analysis and used supplements in the animal diets in order to lower CO2 emissions.