The Virginia Show 2025 in Co. Cavan will take place on Wednesday, August 20, event organisers have confirmed.

The official launch of the show took place on Friday (June 27).

The show committee acknowledged the "continued generous sponsorship and support received from local companies large and small, and donations from individuals".

"The show attracts the masses to Cavan every year. With an all-encompassing range of attractions including trade stands, live entertainment, artisan food stands, sheep shearing demonstrations, dog showing, and children’s entertainment, it is the definitive rural lifestyle event," the organisers said.

As always, a range of livestock showings and competitions will take place.

These include:

Holstein Friesian In-Calf-Heifer competition;
Dairy Champion of the Show;
Interbreed Champion of the Show;
Commercial Heifer Championship;
Champion Beef Bullock Competition;
Male/Female Champion Weanling Show.

The highlight of the Virginia Show is the €13,000 Diageo Baileys Champion Dairy Cow Competition, with the committees describing it as the 'All-Ireland for Dairy Cows'.

This competition "consistently attracts the top cows from all over the Island of Ireland" the organisers said.

This year’s winner will take the title of 40^th Bailey’s Champion.

There will also be dairy and beef classes for all cattle, including: Holstein Friesian and other dairy breeds; commercials; continentals; Shorthorn; Hereford; Angus; Charolais; Limousin; Simmental; and Belgian Blue.

Outside of cattle, the equine section will have qualifiers in the Filly Foal Championship; The Connemara Three-Year-Old Filly All Ireland Championship; and All Ireland Donkey Mare and Foal Championship, as well as over 60 classes for horses and ponies.

In the classes for sheep, there is expected to be strong competition in the Pedigree Suffolk, Texel, Charalois, and Vendeen breeds, as well as the recent additions of Native Galway, Blue Texel and Dassenkop breeds, which will compete for the Paddy Keoghan Cup for Pedigrees.

In the crossbred sheep section there will be strong classes with the overall winner receiving the Hugh Faulkner Cup.

The expanding poultry section will see several classes "for all shapes and sizes", as well as qualifiers in The All-Ireland Soft Feather: Heavy Breeding Pair Chicken Championship, and The All-Ireland True and Rare True Bantam Breeding Pair Chicken Championship.

Away from the livestock and farming side of the show, for those who prefer indoor pursuits the home industries classes will include the finals of a €1,000 Amateur Art competition; a Summer Desserts competition; and The Quality Onion All-Ireland Championship, which last year attracted entries from as far away as Co. Kerry.

In total at this year's Virginia Show, almost 500 classes will be showcased across all events, covering aspects of agriculture and rural life. The show will also feature some 200 trade stands.

"So regardless if you are entering a decorated wooden spoon or bringing along your prized animal for the one of our prestigious cattle classes, there is something for everyone at the Virginia Show," the organisers said.

The committee acknowledged the funding received from the Department of Rural and Community Development as part of a €1 million investment in agricultural shows across Ireland for 2025.