From fancy-dress football to Fr Ted-themed pub crawls and rocking out to rockabilly in the CU marquee, the Blue Jean Country Queen Festival will be bringing its own unique brand of fun for all ages to Athboy from 31 May to 3 June.

Organised by Meath Macra na Feirme, the festival brings over 20 young women from all over Ireland and abroad to Athboy.

They will each leave on bank holiday Monday with great memories and friendships that will last a lifetime, although only one lucky queen will be heading home with the title of Blue Jean Country Queen, as well as €1,000 in prize money from Athboy Credit Union.

The 2019 festival will be officially opened by Athboy community person of the year Dara Englishby at 7pm on Friday 31 May in the Darnley Lodge Hotel. This will soon be followed by the contestants’ first public engagement – the on-stage interviews. During the interviews, the gathered crowd of supporters and well-wishers learn more about each queen.

Meath Macra na Feirme is delighted to welcome back the current Blue Jean Country Queen Alison O’Connor.

Alison, a member of Causeway Macra in Co Kerry, is the first queen from the kingdom to win the title of Blue Jean Country Queen. Reflecting on her year, she said: “I can’t imagine what my Macra life would be like if I hadn’t crossed paths with the Blue Jean Country Queen Festival.

“Having only been very new to the Macra scene, it provided me with the opportunity to meet and get to know some of the nicest people dotted all over Ireland. And if it hadn’t been for the Blue Jean Country Queen Festival, I wouldn’t have been so spurred on to get further involved in all things Macra.”

Gratitude

Speaking at the launch of the festival on the Causey Farm on 6 May, chair Ciaran Kearney expressed his gratitude to everyone who helps in the organisation of the annual event: “I would like to thank our committee for all their hard work. We also couldn’t run this festival without the fantastic support of Athboy Credit Union, M&G Groundworks, Hi-Spec Construction and The Darnley Lodge Hotel.”

He noted the graciousness of the town of Athboy, which has hosted the festival since 1987. “Athboy is also incredibly important to us as a festival venue and we also wish to thank it for giving our queens a warm and wonderful welcome every June.”

Further information on the 2019 Blue Jean Country Queen Festival will be announced in the coming weeks.

For more, see www.bluejeanfest.com or on Facebook.