Winner, Chloe Callanan, with YHOY co-ordinators Dr Sandra Austin and Dr Paul Fitters, and Carol Marks, Bord Bia
The Ireland Final of YHOY 2026 was held on Wednesday, 25 th March. Each year this round
of the competition sees the top seven young horticulturists from across the island of Ireland battle it out to represent our region in the YHOY Grand Final in May.
These young competitors (all of whom must be under the age of 30 to compete) have already fought off stiff competition in Round 1 of the contest, a virtual multiple-choice quiz which runs throughout the month of February each year. The Ireland Final turns up the heat, with a 10-round live quiz, which includes a mixture of buzzer and directed rounds, combined with Plant ID and Pest, Weed and Disease identification rounds. Hosted by the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise, Greenmount College, this year’s Final was a really exciting event, with tough questions answered by all. One of our seven finalists had competed in previous finals, and their experience gave a real edge to the competition.
We were also delighted to welcome Carol Marks, who presented the prizes on behalf of our sponsors, Bord Bia. In addition to their Certificates, each of our finalists received a 💸prize, donated by Bord Bia. The Ireland Branch of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture is very grateful for the continued support from Bord Bia, without whom it would not be possible to host such a wonderful event each year.
Our winner on the day was Chélirs Brecq, a third-year Teagasc/SETU student based at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. Second place went to his classmate Thomas Bryne, who performed brilliantly in his first YHOY final. All of our contestants did themselves proud, displaying great horticultural knowledge throughout, especially during the identification rounds.
We finished the day with an impromptu tour of Greenmount Campus grounds, led by Adam Ferguson and James Crawford. All in all, a memorable day, and a worthy winner in Chélirs. I’m sure they’ll do us proud at the YHOY Grand Final in Rochdale Town Hall, on Saturday,
16 th May 2026. The overall winner in the Grand Final will win a travel bursary of £2500,
sponsored by the Shropshire Horticultural Society.
Final Results:
1st: Chélirs Brecq, SETU/Teagasc College of Amenity Horticulture, Glasnevin 2nd: Thomas Byrne, SETU/Teagasc College of Amenity Horticulture, Glasnevin 3rd: Luke Brophy, Kildalton College 4th: James O’Prey, College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise, Greenmount 5th: Charlotte Dieckmann, SETU/Teagasc College of Amenity Horticulture, Glasnevin 6th: Thomas Lynch, Teagasc College of Amenity Horticulture 7th: Cameron Gilbert, College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise, Greenmount
