SUSTAINABLE beef production is at the centre of a special event took place recently, organised by fifth year Clonakilty students.
Lucy Kirby, Ciara O’Driscoll, Ellen O’Neill and Niamh O’Sullivan are finalists in the Certified Irish Angus Schools competition and are hosting a gala dinner to raise awareness of Certified Angus Beef and promote sustainable beef production.
The Sacred Heart students have been rearing five calves on Lucy’s family farm in Barryroe as part of the competition, which started back in September 2023.
They are now one of five finalists in the competition, and have worked extremely hard up to this point, according to their teacher Mary O’Riordan.
‘I am incredibly proud of the girls,’ she said.
‘From the moment they decided they were going to enter the Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition they were committed and their hard work and dedication that they’ve put in to all aspects of the competition has paid off by becoming one of the five finalists in the competition.
‘They are a brilliant group to work with and are always in good humour and are thoroughly enjoying the experiences and opportunities the competition has given them so far. As their mentoring teacher it’s been fantastic to see the skills they have developed since they entered the competition in Transition Year to now, in terms of the confidence they have gained, the broadening of their communication skills and to see how they’ve learned to effectively work as a team.’
The gala dinner, ‘A Taste of Certified Irish Angus’, takes place this weekend and will feature a premium meal which will be a set menu consisting of Certified Irish Angus Roast Beef and Five Farms Cheesecake, a raffle with a range of prizes kindly sponsored by local businesses, guest speakers including the chairperson of Cancer Connect, a representative from ABP, John Appelbe - pedigree Angus breeder and Brendan Scully of Bandon Co-Op, journalist Tommy Moyles aswell as live music from the local Conor O’Mahony.
‘They’ve put in a lot of time and hard work planning and preparing for the event so they can’t wait for it to come around and for attendees to enjoy the evening. They’re delighted that they are able to use this event to showcase their project, to raise awareness of the Certified Irish Angus brand and educate attendees on sustainable beef production while also taking it as an opportunity to raise money for their chosen charity, Cancer Connect. And of course they’re looking forward to the meal and enjoying the night too!’
