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The winners of the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards were announced at a prestigious ceremony hosted by CÁIS, the Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers, at Kilshane House in Co. Tipperary on Wednesday April 24th.

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Press Release

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2024 Irish Cheese Award Winners:

• Supreme Champion: Hegarty’s Cheese, Whitechurch, Co. Cork – ‘Templegall Extra Mature’

Category Winners (Gold Awards):

• New Cheese (All Styles & Milk Types): Velvet Cloud/Rockfield Dairy, Claremorris, Co. Mayo – ‘Cloonbook’
• Raw Milk Cheese (All Styles and Milk Types): Hegarty’s Cheese, Whitechurch, Co. Cork – ‘Templegall Extra Mature’
• Fresh/Soft Cheese (Buffalo, Cow, Sheep, Mixed Milk): Leitrim Hill Creamery, Carrick-On-Shannon – ‘Sliabh An Iarainn’
• Fresh/Soft Cheese (Goat Milk): Hollywood Farmhouse Cheeses, Hollywood, Co. Wicklow – ‘Pocán’
• Soft Cheese (Flavour Added): Dingle Farm, Dingle, Co. Kerry – ‘Bricín (Garlic & Herbs)’
• Soft/Semi-Soft Bloomy Rind Cheese (All Milk Types): St. Tola Cheese, Inagh, Co. Clare – ‘Original Log’
• Washed Rind Cheese (Semi Soft, All Milk Types): Durrus Cheese, Durus. Co. Cork – ‘Durrus Cheese’
• Blue Cheese (All Milk Types): Mike’s Fancy Cheese, Newtownards, Northern Ireland – ‘Young Buck’
• Smoked Cheese (All Milk Types): Barbavilla Dairy, Co. Westmeath – ‘Smoked Provola’
• Hard Cheese (Flavour Added): Killeen Farmhouse Cheese, Ballyshrule, Portumna, Co. Galway – ‘Killeen Goats Cheese with Fenugreek’
• Hard/Semi-Hard Cheese Under 6 Months (All Milk Types): Boyne Valley Farmhouse Cheese, Rathkenny, Co. Meath – ‘Boyne Valley Bán’
• Mature Hard Cheese Aged Over 6 Months (All Milk Types): Coolea Farmhouse Cheese, Coolea, Co. Cork – ‘Coolea Matured’
• Mature Farmhouse Cheddar aged Over 12 Months (All Milk Types): Coolattin Cheddar, Knockeen, Tullow Co. Carlow – ‘Mount Leinster Clothbound’
• Retail & Creamery Cheddar: SuperValu Signature Tastes, Vintage Red Cheddar
• Retailer Class – Soft/Semi-Soft: Aldi Specially Selected, Cashel Blue
• Retailer Class – Semi-Hard/Hard: Dunnes Stores Simply Better, Irish Farmhouse Killeen Goats Cheese
• Retailer Class – Exclusive Cheeses: Sheridans Cheesemongers, Drunken Saint

Lifetime Achievement Award: Dick & Helene Willems of Coolea Farmhouse Cheese presented by John and Sally McKenna, in recognition of their passion and long-term commitment to their craft.

Download the full list of this year’s winners covering all Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards 🔽.

The CÁIS 2024 Irish Cheese Awards were proudly Sponsored by Bord Bia, Traditional Cheese Co, Sysco, Ornua, and Horgan’s Delicatessen Supplies, and supported by Sheridans Cheesemongers, Teagasc, and Irish Cheese Direct.

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