All-Ireland Scarecrow Championship

The All-Ireland Scarecrow Championship takes place in Durrow, Co. Laois every year, and we have got to say that we are very proud to be the hosts of this great competition. Who would have thought that so many great examples of scarecrows would converge on our small village, to fight it out to be the All-Ireland Champion. Hay fever truly takes over for the full 9 days of this fun filled, family friendly festival, as entries from near and far are judged, before finally a winner will be announced on Sunday August 6th. With multiple categories open for submissions, including our new Sustainability Waste Reduction / Climate Action, our advice is simply, choose whichever one suits you best and go for it!!

How To Enter? To take part you will have to enter the All-Ireland Scarecrow Championship – to enter go to the link below and download the form and hand, post or email it back to us, whichever takes your fancy!

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The Fine Print!

ALL SCARECROW ENTRY FORMS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY WEDNESDAY 26TH JULY – All Scarecrow Entries must be in place by Saturday 29th July at 7.00pm and must then remain in place until close of business on Monday 7th August 2023.

Competition Categories and Entry Fees Scarecrows can be troublesome and to keep them happy we have multiple Competition Categories, these include;

1. Most Topical
2. Most Humorous
3. Open/General
4. Sustainability / Waste Reduction / Climate Action
5. Preschool/School entries
6. Youth with Adult Assistance
7. Youth (Under16)

Terms and Conditions

Prize fund is €3,000 but can vary upwards depending on judges, we mark it as 3k for the guideline.

We feel, after the experience of numerous festivals, and with the assistance of our judges, that our judging process is very fair and takes into account everything about every scarecrow. Any Scarecrow, can realistically win, and we feel with this judging process it’s the fairest way for all.

Each judge scores separately and then the scores are added up. 

As well as prizes in our listed categories, there is also the Judges Choice awards – usually four prizes are given for this. It is basically what made the judges laugh, think or go WOW, we really like this one!!!

We are always fascinated to see what they will go for outside of the judging process – we feel this is a great bonus to all the entrants. Last year they had to stretch the Judges Choice to six prizes, as they were fascinated and torn between so many.

The Judging Process

Materials Used (10 Marks) Judging will be based on the variety of materials used – some straw must be used and must be visible.

Design and Appearance (10 marks) The entry will be judged on the overall finish and the attention to detail. How is the piece constructed? Is it durable? Are there any working parts?

Creativity (10 Marks) Judges will assess the individuality of the piece. How it reflects the style of the creator, where it’s positioned etc.

Concept (10 Marks) Judges will assess the overall idea – The Big Picture

NOTE: If you feel that your concept would be best explained by including a ‘small’ explanatory piece of text with the scarecrow, please feel free to do so. This is particularly important if your scarecrow concept relates to local news, events, etc. Remember to ensure that the piece is fully weather proofed!