Students from Holy Rosary College in Mountbellew, Co. Galway have today (Friday, March 31) been named as the winners of the 2023 Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition.
Peter O’Neill, Amy Higgins, Oisín Colleran and Cormac Delaney were announced as the overall winners at an awards ceremony in Croke Park.
The four students impressed the judges with their approach to the cattle-rearing competition, which is now in its ninth year.
Angus
The Galway students completed a project focussed on improving the quality of beef for consumers.
As part of their research, they conducted a survey to gain an insight into the beef purchasing habits of consumers. The project examined topics including animal husbandry and grassland management.
The students also invited local dairy farmer Henry Walsh and Keith Fahy, a member of the Galway Grasslands Association, to speak to their agricultural science class.
Announcing the winners today, Charles Smith, general manager of Certified Irish Angus, said:
“Holy Rosary College are very deserving winners of this years competition.
“Driven by their deep-rooted interest of agriculture and food production, the students successfully communicated the benefits of good farming practices with their classmates and local community.
“They helped their community to understand the huge farming effort that results in producing the best quality food,” he said.
Competition
The runners up in this year’s competition were Mya Gray McCluskey, Niamh Dunne and Ella Gannon from St. Louis High School in Rathmines, Co. Dublin.
They focussed on the theme of reassuring consumers on animal welfare and created an educational initiative to show their classmates and families the realities of Irish agriculture.
Ryan Reilly from Ardscoil Phádraig in Granard, Co. Longford was awarded an outstanding achievement award for his understanding of the science and technology of modern-day farming.
The Certified Irish Angus Schools’ competition, run in association with ABP and Kepak, challenges students to rear five Irish Angus calves for beef production.
Along with promoting the brand, the competition also aims to communicate the care required to produce quality beef for consumers.
Each of the finalists shares in the sale of the animals to the processors on completion of the project which amounted to an average €7,500. The winning students also receive an additional grant of €2,000 for their further education.
In 2022, almost 600 students from rural and urban schools in 23 counties applied to take part the competition.
Judges are currently examining this year’s 42 shortlisted schools to select five finalists for the 2024 competition who will be announced at the National Ploughing Championships in September.