The Irish Hereford Prime and the Irish Hereford Breed Society are calling on all budding artists to take part in their charity calendar competition.

The fifth edition of the Hereford charity photo and calendar competition gives photographers and artists the opportunity to get their work published, along with the chance of winning a cash prize.

All proceeds from the sale of the calendars will go to the Children’s Health Foundation, which provides support to sick children and their families.

This year’s competition was launched by former Irish rugby player and Leinster coach Seán O’Brien and his four-month-old son Jack.

O’Brien said he was blown away by the immense work done by the charity.

“The love you feel for your child and that in-built need to protect them is like nothing I’ve experienced before and seeing how the wonderful team in Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin understand this and provide empathy and support to parents and children in their care is so touching.”

Categories

The charity said that last year’s fundraiser collected more than €10,000.

The categories available to enter include ‘Creative Calves,’ which is open to children and teens aged 16 and under, with entrants having to draw, paint or sketch the Hereford animal.

There are also three other categories: ‘Herefords - The Natural Choice’, ‘The HEX Factor’ and ‘Herefords - an Environmentally Sustainable Breed’.

Children’s Health Foundation corporate executive Emma Callinan said there were some stand-out images in last year’s entries.

“I’m looking forward to seeing if the standard can get even higher this year and I’d like to say a huge thank you in advance to anyone who enters and donates through the purchase of the calendar.”

Prizes

An independent judge will shortlist the submitted entries in each category and these photos will be up for public vote online from 20 September until midnight on 29 September.

The overall competition winner will receive a cash prize of €500, while first and second place in each category will be awarded with €250 and €150 vouchers respectively.

The winners will be announced in October, with the much sought-after charity calendar due to go on sale in November.

The competition is now open for entry and images can be uploaded on the Irish Hereford prime website, with a deadline of midnight on Friday 13 September.