Templegall from Hegarty Cheese named Best Irish Cheese at British & Irish Cheese Awards

Templegall from Hegarty Cheese named Best Irish Cheese

at British & Irish Cheese Awards

 

Templegall from Hegarty Cheese in Co. Cork has been named Best Irish Cheese at the British & Irish Cheese Awards 2026, winning this prestigious title at the 30th anniversary edition of the Awards, which saw a record breaking number of Irish entries being judged at the competition.

Named after the Irish for the village of Whitechurch (‘An Teampall Geal’) in the North of County Cork where the cheese is produced, Templegall is made by the Hegarty family, along with French cheesemaker, Jean-Baptiste Enjelvin. This Alpine-style cheese is made with raw milk and matured for at least nine months, delivering a sweet, delicate and nutty flavour profile. 

Dan Hegarty from Hegarty Cheese commented: “We are all delighted here in Hegarty Farmhouse Cheese to have won the Best Irish Cheese award at the British & Irish Cheese Awards 2026. 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. 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 British & Irish Cheese Awards received a record breaking number of Irish entries into this year’s competition, as event organisers, The Royal Bath & West Society, 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. 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.

This year’s trophy winners were announced during the British & Irish Cheese Awards Dinner on the evening of Friday 20 March. 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 Friday 20 March, by over 60 experts including cheesemakers, cheesemongers, cheese experts, buyers and commentators. Gold, Silver and Bronze awards were decided in Round 1, before all Gold winners were judged again to identify the category trophy winners. Following a final round of judging with the category winners, the 2026 Supreme Champion was selected.

Cheese lovers were able to view the British & Irish Cheese Awards judging arena throughout the weekend, as part of the Bath & West Food & Drink Festival, and were given the opportunity to sample some of the trophy winners as part of the Festival’s expanded Guided Cheese Tours. Away from the judging area, the event also celebrated growers, producers and purveyors from the South West and beyond, featuring demonstrations, presentations and entertainment.