Athboy's Claire is hometown Blue Jean Country Queen

Claire Gough is the Meath hopeful for the 2024 Blue Jean Country Queen Festival taking place this June Bank Holiday Weekend from 31st May - 3rd June in her home town of Athboy.

Organised by Meath Macra na Feirme in collaboration with the community of Athboy, the festival will bring 22 young women to Athboy from Macra regions all over Ireland and one queen from Latvia to experience a huge array of events throughout the weekend, including two free family fun days, a barbecue, karaoke, and a weekend full of night-time entertainment.

Claire, a 29-year-old civil servant, is no stranger to the festival: “I grew up attending the festival and looking forward to Blue Jean weekend. I'm looking forward to my family and friends supporting me over the weekend and doing them proud.”

As a long-time and highly active member of Athboy Macra, she knows exactly what the festival weekend is all about. Not only that, but her her parents Gerry and Liz have hosted contestants since 2013 and have hosted two previous winning queens including current Blue Jean Country Queen Niamh Sheehy from Kilkenny.

Claire cannot wait for her fellow queens to experience the weekend: “I'm very much looking forward to welcoming the other 21 queens from all over Ireland and afar to my hometown and to having a great weekend organized by my fellow Macra friends.”

Beyond the Blue Jean Country Queen Festival, Macra na Feirme has been very important to Claire. Not only is she current Meath Macra na Feirme Chairperson but she has also represented Meath on Macra na Feirme's National Council.

Always willing to try her hand at anything, she has competed in all kinds of Macra competitions from performing in drama and capers shows to trying her hand at Farmskills. It was while attending a Farmskills workshop that Claire met her husband Matthew, a member of Moynalty Macra. She then went on to compete in the National Final of the competition.

Claire's weekend as a Blue Jean Country Queen will start on Friday 31st May at Causey Farm. Here Claire will first attend a fun team-building exercise at Causey Farm with all her fellow queens. After that, her fellow queens will go and meet their host families though Claire will be staying in her own home - a perk of being the local queen). The festival will officially start on Friday evening with the opening ceremony in the Darnley Lodge Hotel followed by a pub crawl through Athboy.

It's an early start for Claire on Saturday, as the queens will have their private interviews with the judges in the morning. That afternoon, she and the other queens will enjoy the festival's main sponsor, Athboy Credit Union's annual family fun day and barbecue, before heading to Floods Bar for karaoke until the early evening.

That night, Claire will have her public interview at the ‘Queens' Interviews’ sponsored by McNamara Feeds in the Darnley Lodge Hotel with iRadio DJ Conor Woods before getting a chance to party with 'Rhythm and Sticks.’ They, in turn, will be followed by DJ Woods.

On Sunday morning, Claire and her fellow queens will march through the Main Street of Athboy towards the Fair Green for the 'Lark in the Park', a free family fun day with children's entertainment, live music, food stalls, and a toy tractor run where each child entered has the chance to win a ride-on John Deere Gator sponsored by Meath Farm Machinery Ltd.

The queens will kick off the day with a Barbenheimer-themed fancy-dress football match, playing out last summer's biggest movie battle – Barbie vs. Oppenheimer on the football field.

That night, the queens will change out of their fancy dress and into formal wear to join sponsors, committee members, and other dignitaries for the gala banquet in the Darnley Lodge Hotel. Once the banquet has concluded, the queens will do another quick change back into their jeans and gather to find out who will be crowned the 2024 Blue Jean Country Queen before dancing the night away to The Druids, followed by Conor Woods.

The entire weekend is mostly about having a bit of fun, but there is a prize to be won as well. The 2024 Blue Jean Country Queen will receive a tiara, golden sash, and perpetual cup presented by the 2023 Queen, Niamh Sheehy from Kilkenny. The 1st prize winner will also receive €1,000 from Athboy Credit Union, while the 2nd prize winner will receive €500 from Turmec Recycling and the 3rd prize winner €300 from Farrelly Tree Service Ltd.

Meath has had a pretty good run in the festival over the last few years with a Meath queen finishing in a prize winner's position in the last three festivals. However, Claire isn't overly concerned about prizes and no matter what happens over the weekend, she is incredibly proud of the work her fellow Macra members have put into getting the festival organised. “As Meath Macra County Chair this year, I know the work and commitment the committee have put into the festival to make it happen, and I am so grateful and proud of them,” she said.

Tickets for the 2024 Blue Jean Country Queen Festival and further information can be found atwww.bluejeancountryqueen.com or on social media by following the Blue Jean Country Queen Festival on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.