Changing consumer perceptions at forefront of student beef competition

Students from Sacred Heart Secondary School, Clonakilty, Co Cork were announced as the overall winners of the 2026 Certified Irish Angus School’s Competition at an awards ceremony that took place in Croke Park on Friday 6 March.

Now in its 12th year, the competition, which is run in association with processor partners ABP and Kepak, has attracted over 1,000 students from 361 groups across 25 counties.

The competition blends practical learning and research skills to support students’ career development.

Over the course of the two-year competition students have exposure to different elements of the meat processing and food production industries as they investigate a topic relevant to the meat sector.

Through this they develop public speaking and communication skills which in turn builds their confidence and expands their knowledge.

The finalists of the competition rear five angus cattle and on completion of the project, each receives the financial benefit involved in the selling the animals to the processors which amounts to an average €10,000 per group.

The overall winning students also receive an additional grant of €2,000 for their further education.

And the winners are...

This year’s winners Lucy Kirby, Ciara O’Driscoll, Niamh O’Sullivan and Ellen O’Neill impressed the judges with their creation of a consumer education tool. The students were tasked with researching the topic “Increasing awareness of the Certified Irish Angus brand” throughout the experience.

As the four students have farming backgrounds, they leaned on their existing knowledge and brought great determination and creativity to their project.

“There was a disconnect between the farmer and the consumer. We realised that there was a lack of awareness of the Certified Irish Angus brand, the farm to fork journey and farmers were unaware of the breeding tools of DBI [Dairy Beef Index] and CBV [Commercial Beef Value]. It was very beneficial and a great opportunity to connect the disconnect between the farmers and the consumers,” says Niamh.

The students highlighted how the Angus breed helps to increase the reproductive efficiency of a farm and provided a ‘breeding and buying’ checklist to support farmers in their work.

Additionally, the students harnessed their creative skills to develop an educational tool to inform consumers about premium Irish beef and the care and attention that is required to produce it, which was aided with the development of their mascot, ‘Éire the Angus’.

“We came up with the mascot by putting all of our ideas on one page and we asked a girl in our year to make our ideas come to life. We added all the characteristics of the Angus like the grass-based diet, the marbling of the meat and it’s polled with black hair. It’s a creative tool that has helped us promote the Certified Irish Angus brand and create awareness,” says Lucy.

The students got great feedback from farmers and their local community about their awareness campaign and learned a lot from it.

“At the start of the competition we all struggled with public speaking. We gained skills during the competition including communication, public speaking as well as teamwork. The four of us have formed great friendships. Our supporting teacher Ms O’Riordan was a great help to us along the way as well.

“To be announced as winners today was lovely for us. It highlighted how much work we put into the competition and it was a great reward at the end which we are very grateful for,” says Niamh.

Speaking about the winning students, Charles Smith, general manager of Certified Irish Angus, said they have demonstrated “remarkable talent and limitless potential”.

“Their passion for the sector, strong farming ability and engaging personalities set them apart from the beginning. The platform they created to help consumers better understand the Certified Irish Angus brand, and the value of the Angus breed for efficiency on Irish farms showcased real understanding and innovation. Their approach highlights how new ideas and fresh perspectives can help to shape the next generation of Irish agriculture,” says Charles.

For Charles, it is all about helping students who are from farming and non-farming backgrounds to understand the meat sector and the importance of it.

“It’s about selling the message. I passionately believe that we have fantastic farmers in Ireland not just at producing food, but custodians of the countryside who are minding rural Ireland. To be able to bring people together to celebrate that and to make them aware of what is on offer in rural Ireland. The huge contribution it makes to all aspects of health, nutrition and the environment – I think that is vitally important not only to talk about but also to celebrate,” he says.

Runners up

The runners up in the 2026 competition were students Jack O’Meara, Moya Guinan, Joseph McLoughney and Ben Younge from St Brendan’s Community School, Birr, Co Offaly.

The students researched the theme ‘optimising sustainable animal nutrition for better angus beef cattle’. They demonstrated how small adjustments lead to enhancements in sustainable beef farming.

Cillian Marren from Newport College, Co Tipperary received an outstanding achievement award for his contribution to the competition.

Speaking about Cillian the judges said, “Cillian possesses all the qualities that define true character. Throughout the competition, he displayed exceptional maturity, dignity, and consideration. He is a very worthy winner of this award”.

Hear more from the students on this week’s Young Stock Podcast.