FOUR West Cork students are championing the message of sustainable quality beef as they compete in a prestigious schools competition.
Lucy Kirby, Ellen O’Neill, Ciara O’Driscoll, and Niamh O’Sullivan are down to the final five teams taking part in the Certified Irish Angus schools All-Ireland competition, where they are raising five Angus cattle on Lucy’s home farm.
They are fifth year students at Sacred Heart Secondary School in Clonakilty.
It was back in September 2023 when in transition year that they expressed interest to Mary O’Riordan, one of their teachers at the school who became their mentor on the project, to take part.
The four got to work and sent in a three-minute video entry explaining what they planned for the competition.
‘It’s a very long competition but each step makes sense, but there’s an awful lot of hard work for the girls,’ said Mary, who herself comes from a dairying background outside Kilmichael.
The Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition, run by Certified Irish Angus and its processor partners, ABP and Kepak, aims to encourage second-level students to understand the considerable care and attention required to produce and market the highest-quality beef for consumers.
It does so in the most practical way possible: by having the students rear animals. The five calves are now being reared on Lucy’s family farm.
The five cattle are called Tórneach, Réalt, Inis, Bua and a heifer called Éru, from an AI bull sire called Dromcrow Tribesman, hence the five Irish tribal names for the calves. In addition to rearing the calves, the students complete research projects focusing on different aspects of farming, the food chain, and sustainability. ‘They are all from a farming background but they wouldn’t have had this much knowledge. This competition has given them a whole different insight,’ said Mary.
The Clon students are using their project to increase awareness of the Certified Irish Angus brand by creating a mascot called Eire, a cartoon steak. ‘Eire helps to educate the consumer on where meat comes form as the mascot shows the marbling on the meat, the black hair represents the Angus breed, and it is standing on some grass, which shows how it is reared and its grass-based diet.’
Each of the entries will receive the financial benefit of selling the animals to the processors upon the project’s completion. The winning students also receive an additional grant of €2,000 for their further education.
From an initial 170 entries, this was narrowed to 70.
In January 2024, the students were interviewed at Moorepark by agricultural representatives for groups including Kepak, ABP, and Certified Irish Angus.
The entry was narrowed down to the top 40 at that stage, and the Clon crew were selected to attend a special event at Croke Park, where their projects were analysed by the judges.
Everyone in the school knows them as the Angus gang because of t the project,’ said Mary. ‘Lots of their friends and their year classmates all went up to Croke Park to support them.’
In March 2024, the Clon students got the news that they were in the top five.
Getting to this stage of the competition is where the competition is taken to a whole new level.
At the Ploughing Championships in September 2024, the Clon students were presented with five calves in September 2024 which they will now rear for the next year, until they are ready for slaughter in March 2026.
‘It’s my first time being involved in the competition and there is plenty of commitment from the students and they keep their momentum going,’ said Mary.
‘They must give regular updates on the cattle, and every week all of the girls go over to Lucy’s farm. The animals are nearly pets at this stage!’ said Mary.
They are also continuing on other educational elements to the project. This spring teacher Mary and the students will be going to Brussels on a study trip and visiting the European parliament as part of the project.
‘Whatever happens from here, they have already achieved so much from this. They know that to have got this far is some achievement.’
West Cork schools excel at competition
WEST Cork has a proud history in the Certified Angus competition, which celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
Indeed the first winners of the competition a decade ago came from Sacred Heart Clonakilty.
Mentored by teacher Brid Hennessy, the four students Aoife Dullea, Laura Clancy, Meabhdh Sexton, and Lionadh Condon received their award in Croke Park.
Back then, Laura Clancy was on that the winning entry, and she is now the operations manager at Fernhill House & Gardens. Laura made a recent return to her old school to offer some advice. ‘She called in to the school and really inspired them,’ said Mary.
‘They could see what she gained from entering the competition, and the opportunities it gave.’
They were also in contact with Mark Shorten, who was a winner with Conor Lehane in 2018 when they attended St Brogan’s Bandon, and he explained how worthwhile entering was but also how beneficial it has been as he continues his career progression.
