A CHEESE produced in Co. Cork has been named the best in Ireland.
Templegall from Hegarty Cheese was named the Best Irish Cheese at the British & Irish Cheese Awards, held this week.
The cheese is produced in the village of Whitechurch in the north of the county, which translates to An Teampall Geal in Irish.
Producers the Hegarty family make their Alpine cheese, which is made with raw milk and matured for at least nine months, with the help of French cheesemaker Jean-Baptiste Enjelvin.
“We are all delighted here in Hegarty Farmhouse Cheese to have won the Best Irish Cheese award at the British & Irish Cheese Awards 2026,” Dan Hegarty from Hegarty Cheese said today.
Templegall from Hegarty Cheese has won the title of Best Irish Cheese“We are the 5th generation to milk cows on our farm and we have been making farmhouse cheese in Whitechurch, Co. Cork for the last 25 years,” he explained.
“Templegall is made exclusively from our own grass fed cow’s milk.
“The cheese is made during the spring/summer season only, when the cows are at grass.
“We use the morning milk which is pumped directly into the cheese vat, this all results in its unique taste.
“We are so thankful to all our team, from those managing the grass, to milking the cows, to making the cheese and then maturing it for 9 to 18 months.”
The annual British & Irish Cheese Awards are organised by The Royal Bath & West Society.
This year, which marked the 30th anniversary of the event, they worked alongside CÁIS - The Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers, Bord Bia – The Irish Food Board, and the Specialist Cheesemakers Association in the UK, to improve logistics around entry consolidation and transport.
As a result 48 Irish cheeses were judged in a field of over 600 entries, highlighting a “growing renaissance for Irish cheese in the UK, a decade after the Brexit referendum which led to many Irish cheeses disappearing from British cheese counters” the orgasniers said.
This year’s trophy winners were announced during the British & Irish Cheese Awards Dinner on the evening of Friday, March 20.
On the night the Supreme Champion trophy went to Dazel Ash from Rosary Goats Cheese, an ash-coated goat’s log made in the New Forest, while the Reserve Champion Cup went to Yarlington, a soft washed-rind cheese from King Stone Dairy in Gloucestershire.
All 600 entries were judged at The Bath & West Showground near Shepton Mallet, Somerset, on March 20, by over 60 experts including cheesemakers, cheesemongers, cheese experts, buyers and commentators.
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