Three students from St Brigid's were celebrated at the annual Certified Irish Angus Schools competition in Croke Park.

Katie Donoghue, Abbie Daly, and Alanna Brady attended the prestigious grand final in the Hogan Suite on Friday after successfully completing a research project and rearing five Angus calves for 18 months.

The Certified Irish Angus Schools’ Competition in association with ABP and Kepak is an initiative that challenges students to rear five Irish Angus Cross calves for 18 months until their slaughter which aids their Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science curriculum. It aims to promote the Certified Irish Angus brand while communicating the care and attention required to produce quality beef for consumers.

The Killarney students researched methods of 'Improving Farm Outcomes Through Education'. The study focused on how local farmers can effectively apply educational resources from industry experts to their own farms. By sharing their knowledge at local discussion groups, the farmers were able to review new farming practices and share honest assessments with their peers. The groups targeted were experienced and young farmers which proved to be vital to successful discussions around environmental beef farming practices.

Currently, farming industry experts are judging this year’s 42 shortlisted projects and will select five finalists.

The five schools that best demonstrate an understanding of the project along with innovative ideas will be announced in September and will receive their calves at the National Ploughing Championships in September 2023.

Each of the finalists will receive the financial benefit involved in the selling of the animals to the processors on completion of the project which amounted to an average €7,500. The winning students also receive an additional grant of €2,000 for their further education.