Alannah Finnegan, a data analyst who speaks Italian and Portuguese claimed the title 2024 Blue Jean Country Queen over the June Bank Holiday weekend, marking the first time a woman from Cavan has claimed the title.
26-year-old Alannah is a member of the Three Province Macra club which was only established in 2020.
The second prize went to Wexford’s Sarah Byrne, a drama teacher and farmer, who received €500 from Turmec Recycling.
Third place went to Grace Donellan, a student from Clare who received €300 from Farrelly Tree Care.
Blue Jean Country Queen
Throughout the Blue Jean Country Queen festival, Alannah and her 21 fellow queens took part in a hectic and fun-filled weekend which saw them do everything from taking part in a pub crawl and on-stage interviews, playing fancy dress football, attending a BBQ with main sponsors, Athboy Credit Union and singing karaoke with the festival organisers and judges.
The festival began on Friday, May 31 with the queens taking a trip to Causey Farm where they took part in a team-building exercise that saw them bake bread, dance, and spend time with puppies, horses and alpacas on the farm.
This was followed by the festival’s official opening at Darnley Lodge Hotel and a pub crawl that brought the queens on a tour of the town.
The real hard work began Saturday with private interviews with judges Miss Macra 1990 Catherine Flood; Annika Heinemann – a communications expert working in the arts and culture sector; and returning community representative Maeve Lalor.
Alannah and all the other queens then spent their day at the Athboy Credit Union BBQ and Fun Day before heading to Floods Bar to sing some karaoke.
That evening they had the McNamara Feeds Queens’ Interviews hosted by iRadio’s Conor Woods in front of a crowded Darnley Lodge Hotel before partying the night away with Rhythm and Sticks.
On Sunday morning, the queens gathered at Darnley Lodge Hotel to prepare for a game of Barbenheimer-themed Fancy Dress Football with each queen dressed as a character from 2023’s two biggest movies.
The match served as the opening event to an afternoon-long family fun at the Hora Homes ‘Lark in the Park’ fun day that included live music, children’s races, a petting zoo, puppets shows and the Meath Farm Machinery Ltd. Toy Tractor Run.
After that it was off to the gala banquet and once the winners were announced, the queens danced the night away to The Druids.
“It’s been unbelievable, the town has been so welcoming, [the weekend] was so relaxed!” Alannah said reflecting on the festival.
She hopes to use her platform to help Cavan Macra grow and expand. She also hopes to keep in touch with all the friends she made over the weekend.
“I’ve visited all 32 counties in the last year but I’ll be visiting all 32 again to see all the lovely queens I’ve met this weekend.”