It will be a case of cleavers at the ready for the country’s top butchers this March, when an Irish team heads for Paris to take on the world’s best in an event described as the ‘Olympics of Meat’.

The World Butchers’ Challenge (WBC) is touted as ‘The Greatest Butchery Event on Earth’ and a six-person team will be flying the flag for the Emerald Isle.

Ireland has form in this epic event, with a team assembled by the Craft Butchers of Ireland taking the WBC title in Belfast in 2018.

The event requires each team of butchers to process a side of beef, a side of pork, a full lamb and six chickens in 3.5 hours.

The Irish team includes husband-and-wife duo Jim and Bernadeta Murphy from Tullow; Ger O’Callaghan from Skibbereen; Paul Hamilton from Tyrone; James Etherson from Dublin; and Mark Williams from Abbeyleix.

By all accounts, the Irish team has been training well and will travel with confidence.