Laois students on the moo-ve in Croke Park

TEAMS from two Laois schools took the bull by the horns with ambitious projects, in a bid to win a renowned national calf-rearing contest.

Students from Clonaslee College and Portlaoise College exhibited their projects in Croke Park on Friday 7 March, at the 2025 Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition.

The teams hope to be among those selected to rear five Irish Angus calves, which will be presented at the National Ploughing Championships next September.

Meanwhile, a team from Scoil Chríost Rí, Portlaoise took runner-up spot in the previous contest and received glowing praise from judges at the Croke Park event.

The Clonaslee College team of Ceilidh Maher, Laura Costello and Emma Kelly exhibited a study titled ‘Our Farms’, while Maily Culliton, Ali Harding and Keelin Moore from Portlaoise College presented ‘Women in Agriculture’.

The competition, supported by ABP and Kepak, challenges students to rear five Irish Angus calves for 18 months and learn about the care and attention required to produce quality beef for consumers.

A total of 46 schools nationwide took part in the Croke Park exhibition and five will be presented with Irish Angus calves at the 2025 National Ploughing Championships, which will be held at Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly from 16-18 September.

The winners will be those who best demonstrate an understanding of the calf-rearing project, together with innovative ideas about the care of premium calves and the production of high-quality beef.

Meanwhile, three students from Scoil Chríost Rí were announced as runners-up in the previous contest, having successfully reared five Angus calves.

Jill Sheehy, Carol Sheehy and Sinéad Slevin attended the grand final in the Hogan Suite and, while just missing out on the overall prize, they received high praise from the judges for their research project ‘Optimising Sustainable Animal Nutrition for Better Angus Beef Cattle’.

They focused their research on reducing carbon emissions by using a traceable local input supply chain, while also exploring opportunities for linking tillage and beef enterprises to deliver mutual benefits.

Carol was nominated as one of the best five overall speakers in the competition and the girls were awarded two return flights each, to a destination of their choice, by Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary.

Speaking at the ceremony, the judges said: “These three young women bubbled with enthusiasm for this project from the word go.

“Once the calves arrived on the Sheehy Farm, the community of Stradbally and Portlaoise were aware of their presence and the ambition of the girls to communicate how efficiently and sustainably these animals would be reared.

“Through a lot of hard work, determination and drive, the girls developed an understanding of farming as an occupation and as a business and how these impact on each other.

“Carol and Jill developed further understanding about their parents’ farming lives, while Sinéad experienced what it is like for a woman to run a farm and raise a family, by volunteering to work on the farm of Ireland’s most decorated GAA player, Briege Corkery.” 

The judges added that, through a combination of hard work, focus and genuine interest, the Scoil Chríost Rí students “excelled personally and professionally” throughout the competition.