Tech approach to research and promotion wins top prize for Mercy Secondary School
Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition
Three students from Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan were announced as the overall winners of the 2025 Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition at an awards ceremony in Croke Park yesterday.
Jack Larkin, Eoin Robinson and Shane King impressed the judges of the competition, now in its 11th year, with their IT skills and content creation capabilities.
They researched the topic ‘Applying Technology to Improve Angus Cattle Breeding’ throughout the two-year experience, and 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.
Making use of their personal interests in media and content creation, the students also created a podcast ‘Angus to the Fore’, for which they interviewed personnel in the agri sector and specialists in the Angus breed.
The series included high-profile guests including former Irish rugby captain Rory Best and Ryanair CEO and Angus farmer, Michael O’Leary.
At the awards ceremony on Friday, Minister for Education and Youth Helen McEntee said: “This is an opportunity to celebrate the passion, creativity and enthusiasm of our youth.
“This initiative tasks students with learning practical skills, and it encourages each participating group to develop and demonstrate their own ambitions and innovations too.
“The offline nature of the competition is a perfect complement to class-based learning and it is excellent to see students from rural and urban areas engaged.
“I extend congratulations to the overall winners, and all finalists today on their hard work and determination.”
Charles Smith, general manager of Certified Irish Angus, said of Jack, Eoin and Shane that “these three unique young men have unlimited potential”.
He said they displayed a combination of IT skills, passion for breeding, practical farming ability, and “a strong bond of friendship made this group something more than special”.
“Their work simplified and gave a greater understanding of breeding indexes and their value in choosing breeding stock to the broader farming industry. The complexity of their work made them stand out and left the judges in awe of their ability. There is little need for concern for Irish agriculture with young men like these in the wings.”
Runners-up
The runners up in the 2025 competition were Carol Sheehy, Sinead Slevin and Jill Sheehy from Scoil Chríost Rí, Portlaoise. They 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.
Outstanding Achievement by an Individual Award
Nicole Briody from Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan received an outstanding achievement award for her contribution to the competition. 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.”
Competition Growth
The Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition is celebrating its 11th 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 ABP, Kepak, Tesco, Bord Bia, Dromoland Castle, Dovea Genetics, IASTA, Agriland, the 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 at the National Ploughing Championships in September.
On completion of the project, each 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.
For further information on the projects see certifiedirishangus.ie/certified-irish-angus-schools-competition.
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 continues success of the initiative.