AN ENNIS ten year old has won the top cash prize of €1000 in the Woodie’s 2026 Budding Gardeners Competition.
Matthew Cahir from the county town won the overall prize with his ‘Matthew’s Supergarden’ entry.
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. Woodie’s garden expert and judge of the competition, Brian Burke had a tough role judging this year’s entries but it was the Ennis youngster who came out on top in the national competition.
Speaking about the creative and colourful entries from this year’s Budding Gardeners competition, Brian Burke noted “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”.
“We received submissions from all over the country, including some wonderfully inventive and eye-catching homemade pots. Congratulations to our winner and runners-up, and a huge well done to everyone who entered. Your enthusiasm and creativity have been inspiring, and we look forward to seeing what you grow and create next year”, he continued.
Adding to this and congratulating all the entrants and this year’s winners, Hilda Lyon, Head of Marketing at Woodie’s expressed, “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. 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!”.
Five runners-up in this year’s competition claimed a €500 gift card each, including a mix of school and home projects such as brother and sister Fiadh (age 6) and Oisín (age 7) Murphy from Rathpeacon in County Cork with their project ‘Bee’s Boots’ and Lucy Murphy (age 5) from Drumshanbo in County Leitrim for her project ‘Companion Pot’.
