Three students from Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan Co Westmeath were announced as the overall winners of the 2025 Certified Irish Angus School’s Competition.

Students Jack Larkin, Eoin Robinson and Shane King were the judges' winners at he awards ceremony which took place in Croke Park on Friday 7 March.

The Westmeath group were tasked with researching the topic 'Applying Technology to Improve Angus Cattle Breeding' throughout the two-year experience. They demonstrated the use of ICBF evaluations to further trace Angus beef and developed a Bull Finder database to aid farmers in identifying superior genetic animals.

Leaning into their personal interests in media and content creation, the group also created a successful podcast “Angus to the Fore” where they interviewed personnel in the agri sector and advocates for the Angus breed.

The series included a number of high-profile guests including former Irish rugby captain Rory Best and Ryanair CEO and Angus farmer, Michael O’Leary.

In attendance was Minister for Education and Youth Helen McEntee who said: “This is a momentous occasion to celebrate the passion, creativity and enthusiasm of our youth. This initiative not only tasks students with learning practical skills, but also encourages each participating group to develop and demonstrate their own ambition and innovations too.

Speaking about the winning students, Charles Smith, general manager of Certified Irish Angus said that the three unique young men have "unlimited potential", displaying a combination of IT skills, passion for breeding, practical farming ability and very strong bonds of friendship made this group something more than special.

Runners up

The runners up in the 2025 competition were Carol Sheehy, Sinead Slevin and Jill Sheehy from Scoil Chríost Rí, Portlaoise, Co Laois. The students researched the theme 'Optimising Sustainable Animal Nutrition for Better Angus Beef Cattle'.

They focused their research on reducing carbon emissions by using a fully traceable local input supply chain. The students also explored the opportunities for linking tillage and beef enterprises to deliver mutual benefits.

About the competition

The Certified Irish Angus Schools’ competition in association with ABP and Kepak, challenges students to rear five Irish Angus calves for beef production for two years.

It aims to promote the Certified Irish Angus brand while communicating the care and attention required to produce quality beef for consumers.

2024 saw the highest ever number of applicants to the initiative – 188 school groups from across the country – demonstrating the continued success of the initiative.

Individual award

Nicole Briody from Ballyjamesduff Co Cavan received an outstanding achievement award for her contribution to the competition.

Commenting, the judges said: “Nicole is exceptionally proud of her farming background. A proud young Cavan lady who is immensely kind in attributing her skills and ambitions to others; her family, her school, her teachers, her parents, all of which is true, but the real star of the show is herself. This young lady is destined for great things in the future and will be a fantastic ambassador for farming and for Irish food.”

On completion of the project, each of the finalists receives the financial benefit involved in the selling of 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.

Competition growth

The Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition is celebrating its eleventh year in 2025 and farming experts are currently judging the next batch of potential entrants from a pool of 46 shortlisted schools.

The judges include representatives from right across the agri-food industry ABP, Kepak, Tesco, Bord Bia, Dromoland Castle, Dovea Genetics, IASTA, Agriland, IFA and Macra na Feirme.

The five schools that best demonstrate an understanding of the competition, along with innovative project ideas will be announced later this year at the National Ploughing Championships in September.