Offaly School scoops runners-up prize in 2026 Woodie’s Budding Gardeners Competition
Students from Scoil Bhríde in Clara won the runners-up prize and a €500 Woodie's gift card
The 2026 Woodie’s Budding Gardner’s winners have been announced with students from Scoil Bhríde in Clara scooping one of the runners-up prizes at the prestigious competition.
Woodie's garden expert and judge of the competition, Brian Burke awarded the accolade to Ms. Joanne Fox’s Special Needs Class from the Offaly school for their project ‘Butterfly Dreams’ as well as a €500 Woodie’s gift card.
Now in its sixth year, the Woodie’s Budding Gardeners campaign encourages children across Ireland to flex their green fingers by taking on an exciting garden project at home or in school while learning about the importance of plants along the way.
The overall Woodie’s Budding Gardeners top prize went to ten-year-old Matthew Cahir from Ennis in County Clare for his ‘Matthew’s Supergarden’ entry, winning the top cash prize of €1,000.
Other runners’ up in this year's competition included brother and sister Fiadh (age 6) and Oisín (age 7) Murphy from Rathpeacon in County Cork, five-year-old Lucy Murphy from Drumshanbo in County Leitrim, Mr Steven Maguire’s second-class students from Gaelscoil Mhic Aodha in Kildare and Banogue National School in Limerick.
Speaking about the creative and colourful entries from this year’s Budding Gardeners competition Brian said: "Judging the Woodie’s Budding Gardeners competition is a key highlight on the calendar each year, but it is one of the most challenging tasks!”
“The originality, talent, and imagination shown by young gardeners across Ireland is truly remarkable, and the care, effort, and attention to detail evident in every entry continues to amaze us year after year.”
He added: “We received submissions from all over the country, including some wonderfully inventive and eye-catching homemade pots. A huge well done to everyone who entered.”
Hilda Lyon, Head of Marketing at Woodie’s commented: “A huge congratulations and heartfelt thank you to all the families, schools, and young budding gardeners who took part in this year’s Woodie’s Budding Gardeners competition. Every year, we are blown away by the imagination and enthusiasm on display, and this year was no exception.
She concluded: “It’s clear that so much care, effort, and fun went into every project and every participant should be proud of what they’ve accomplished. Well done to everyone involved!”