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The Queen of the Land Festival is an annual festival in County Offaly, Ireland, hosted by Offaly Macra na Feirme in which young women compete for the title "Queen of the Land" based on their "appearance, personality, energy, confidence, dress sense, rural knowledge and elocution". [1] [2] [3]
Contents
- Previous winners
- 1960s winners
- 1970s winners
- 1980s winners
- 1990s winners
- 2000s winners
- 2010s winners
- 2020s winners
- References
- External links
The festival, which is currently sponsored by WR Shaw, was initiated by the Irish Farmers Journal in 1964 as part of the Kilkenny beer festival. The competition was then taken over by Offaly Macra three years later.
County Meath lives up to the claim of being the "Royal County" by having had six Queens crowned over the years. Laois, Kilkenny and Limerick come second with four titles each.
The competition has had to be postponed on a number of occasions, starting with 2001; owing to the foot-and-mouth disease crisis that hit Ireland that year. It was once again suspended between 2019 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2025, the competition has not been held since 2023.
The host county has only tasted victory twice in the competition; Michelle Cody won in 1994 and Sinead Mulcahy in 2009, both from the Shinrone Macra Club.
2005 was the 40th anniversary of the festival. As part of the big celebrations, all former Queens were invited back to Tullamore to join in the festivities for the weekend.