Queen of the Land returns for 59th year

The annual Queen of the Land festival – a long-established popular event among the 11,000 members of Macra na Feirme – returns to the calendar next month.

For the first time, the J Grennan and Sons Queen of The Land Festival will take place in the County Arms Hotel, Birr, and it’s on November 10-12.

The launch last week welcomed 26 contestants to the festival, now in its 59th year.

Judging this year’s contest are MEP and former Rose of Tralee winner, Maria Walsh, the current Queen of the Land, Rachel McNamara, former Macra na Feirme president Sean Finan, and Kieran Corrigan, the main sponsor judge on behalf of Grennans.

With a weekend of entertainment to look forward to, including musical acts The Whistling Donkeys and All Folk’d Up performing in the festival Big Top, some 3,000 people are expected to attend. It officially kicks off in Emmet Square, Birr, on November 10.

Earlier that day, the contestants will embark on a tour of Grennan Mills in Rath, before their official welcome by the people of Birr that evening.

On the Saturday, the Queens will give their live interviews on stage in the festival Big Top, while on the Sunday evening, at the gala banquet, the new 2023 Queen of the Land will be crowned.

At the launch of the festival in the County Arms Hotel, Deirdre Colgan, chairperson of the Queen of the Land Festival, said: “J Grennan and Sons are the new sponsors, without whom the festival could not be run. It is great to have a local sponsor who has worked actively with us in organising and supporting the event. Their experience and involvement in community events has proven invaluable – and we are very grateful.”

Tickets for the festival Big Top are available via the Queen of the Land Facebook page.