12-year-old Aoife McNamee from Scotstown in Co Monaghan is the overall winner of our Irish Country Living Colour the Countryside competition. The McNamee family are dairy farmers supplying Lakeland. Aoife may be missing her friends, her gymnastics class and football training, but Aoife’s mum Teresa tells us that she is keeping herself busy crafting, baking and sewing. She also goes over to help on the farm to help shift fences and look after the calves, but a girl sensible about farm safety, she steers clear of the cows.

Aoife McNamee (12) was the overall winner of the Irish Country Living "Colour the Countryside" competition.

Teresa manages a nursing home and with COVID-19, she is glad that big sister Roisín, who has just finished her degree in early childhood studies in Dundalk, is at home with Aoife during this time. As a sixth-class student, she has unfortunately missed out on her graduation and confirmation due to COVID-19, but the school is still hopeful of doing something to mark the occasion during the summer.

Unsurprisingly, arts and crafts is a firm favourite pastime for Aoife. She spends all her time colouring, drawing and making things. Teresa tells us that Aoife will recycle rubbish and cardboard to make stuff for her Barbies. She sews too and makes clothes for her Barbies from old socks and then uses paperclips to make hangers to hang them up. She is a little bit of a perfectionist and without a mark outside the lines, we are delighted to feature Aoife’s entry as this week’s cover.

First Runner up

Oniesa Busteed (age 5) Lissaphoola, Bandon, Co Cork.

Oniesa Busteed was the first runner-up and at only six (nearly seven) years of age, is one of the youngest of our winners. The Busteed family are dairy farmers from Lissaphoola, Bandon, Co Cork, supplying Carbery through Bandon Co-op, but Oniesa is kept very busy, as are her two brothers Joshua (13) and Ethan (11) as they also have beef, loads of hens and pet lambs. The kids are very involved in the farm and all have a calf and some hens to keep them busy. Oniesa loves dancing, singing and is quite the creative little girl.

Oniesa Busteed came second in the ICL Colour the Countryside competition. She is pictured here on the home farm with her brother Joshua.

Although packaging had no influence on the decision-making process as all entries were unwrapped and stacked, Oniesa’s mum Gwyneth did ask if we noticed how her entry was wrapped. Of course we did - it was the one that came wrapped in an Irish Farmers Journal!

Second Runner up

Dacey Carr (age 8) Downpatrick, Co Down.

Dacey Carr, who is from Downpatrick in Co Down, was our second runner-up. Dacey’s dad Ryan explained the genesis of his eight-year-old’s name. “My wife is from Laois but she has family further south from Waterford, the Deise Dacey also means “from the South” so between the two that is where we got it from.”

The Carr family are dairy farmers, supplying Lakeland.

Dacey Carr.

Dacey, over the last while, has been keeping up her P4 schoolwork as well as getting in her 200 touches for her Gaelic practice. She has one older brother Logan (nine) and a younger sister Elise (four). The big thing for the Carr kids currently has been the arrival of two chickens. Despite a slow start, they are now laying well and giving two eggs a day. When asked what she likes, Dacey says that horse-riding is top of her list followed by her other favourites, football, farming and fashion. A girl after my own heart.

Here are some more brilliant entries we received