Dairy Connect Ireland Cheese Awards

Terms & Conditions


Published January 2026

  1. TERMS USED
  2. The Organisers – Dairy Connect Ireland, the organisation that runs Irish Cheese Awards.
  3. Company profile – the company’s record on awards entry platform, through which entries to Cheese Awards are made and the results & feedback recorded and released to the entrant.
  4. User account – an email address and password to access the Company profile. There can be multiple user accounts for a Company profile.
  5. Arbitrator – refers to a senior member of the judging panel who can be called upon by the judges in the case of queries during the judging process.
  6. REGISTRATION
  7. All entries must be entered by a user registered on the awards platform under a company wishing to enter.
  8. The entry system will automatically send all Cheese Awards correspondence about entries, deliveries and results to the user who is set as your company’s delivery instructions/ main award contact.
  9. It is the responsibility of all entrants to ensure that the user entering, or subsequently set to receive correspondence within the Company profile, has access to their email account during entry, delivery, and results periods.
  10. It is the responsibility of all entrants to ensure that the domain name dairy-connect.com is added to a safe senders list to avoid missing important Dairy Connect IrishCheese Awards information.
  11. It is the responsibility of all entrants taking part in the Dairy Connect Irish Cheese Awards to provide correct information and spellings of company names, product names and contact details.
  12. The Dairy Connect Irish Cheese Awards is open to all dairy producers based in the Republic of Ireland.
  13. To be eligible to enter Dairy Connect Irish Cheese Awards, entrants must confirm that they are registered as a Food Business with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). Companies that are not registered will be unable to enter products into the Cheese Awards. No refunds can be given for withdrawn entries. Additionally, entrants will be asked for food safety accreditation and documentation.
  14. The Dairy Connect IrishCheese Awards is open to dairy-based cheese products only. The Organisers are unable to accept cream, yoghurt, crème fraiche, milk or dairy-alternative/non-dairy cheeses.
  15. No cheeses can be accepted into The Dairy Connect Irish  Cheese Awards that require specialist equipment or that require cooking to taste. All cheeses will be tasted in their delivered state.
  16. All entries must be commercially available at the time of entry i.e. sold through independent retailers, local markets, online or a multiple retailer.
  17. All products must be made to the same standard and recipe as the foods available commercially.
  18. Entries must be fit for human consumption.
  19. The Dairy Connect Irish Cheese Awards 2026 closes for entry on 31 March 2026. Early entry is strongly advised.
  20. Product entry details must be correct when the entry cap is reached, and entry is closed. There will be no opportunity to edit the product entry details after the entry period closes.
  21. The Dairy Connect Irish Cheese Awards Organisers reserve the right to refuse entry of a product if it is deemed inappropriate or not in the true spirit of the awards.
  22. Products may only be entered in ONE category per year. It is not permitted to enter the same product in multiple categories. However it is permitted to enter the same cheese more than once, provided the age profiles are different. Cheeses are judged based on their own merit and not compared to others in the same category. Categories are intended for operational purposes only and organisers reserve the right to move your cheese into a different category for operational purposes. This will not affect your results or chance of being awarded.
  23. The Organisers may check your product description and amend or remove nonfactual information, if applicable.
  24. The Organisers may check your product is entered into the correct category and amend if applicable.
  25. Entries that do not include full entry information before payment, or with any sections left as TBC (or similar) will be automatically disqualified.
  26.  ll cheeses are judged blind, tasting and assessing flavour, rind, body, texture and appearance. The entrant name, product name and country of origin will not be made known to the judges.
  27. PAYMENT
  28. A payment by credit/ debit card, in full, is required when entering online.
  29. DELIVERY
  30. A delivery date will be allocated to each entrant to go to an assigned delivery address, which will be advised nearer the event.
  31. An email email will be sent to the user selected to receive correspondence within the Company profile.
  32. All judging is planned to take place at BIA INNOVATOR CAMPUS CLG | Mellows Campus | Athenry |Co Galway |H65 DD86.
  33. It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure the prompt and safe delivery of all products by the requested date for delivery. Failure to do so may result in disqualification.
  34. It is the responsibility of all entrants to ensure that all products are packed, transported and delivered in a condition fit and safe for consumption by the judges. Damaged products or samples deemed unsafe for consumption will be disqualified.
  35. It is the responsibility of the entrant to notify the Organisers of any products with a short shelf-life and to contact the Organisers to arrange an alternative delivery date if applicable.
  36. Please use the Box Label supplied with the delivery labels on all parcel(s) to help with identification of your parcel(s) on arrival at the judging venue.
  37. Each cheese must be labelled with the CORRECT Product Label supplied with the delivery labels. There is one UNIQUE Product Label for each entry – please check carefully that you have affixed the correct Product Label to the correct cheese.
  38. Cheeses must not have any visible identification marks. Please ensure any indelible markings and branding on entries are removed or covered before delivery otherwise judges may insist a branded entry is disqualified.
  39. Any cheese that has been previously ironed or bored more than once will be disqualified.
  40. Soft cheeses will be stored overnight in a refrigeration unit. During receipt of deliveries and cheese staging, there may be short periods when soft cheeses are not in a refrigeration unit. This will always be in line with health authority rules and regulations for tasting by judges.
  41. JUDGING
  42. Judging is planned to take place on Thursday 16 April 2026, at BIA INNOVATOR CAMPUS CLG | Mellows Campus | Athenry |Co Galway |H65 DD86. Please note dates and location are correct at time of publishing and may be subject to change.
  43. Judges may cut whole cheeses for closer examination.
  44. Badly deteriorated cheese will be discarded at the discretion of the Organisers.
  45. The Organiser is unable to accept responsibility for any loss or damage to cheeses during or after the exhibition, in transit to the show or on collection.
  46. Under no circumstances must any cheeses be removed from the judging area by entrants. No products can be collected by entrants unless prior arrangement has been made in writing with the Organisers. It will only be possible to collect products if the host country’s health authority allows it. Those products will only be released after the judging process is completed and only if the Organiser has been advised by email the name of the person undertaking the collection.
  47. RESULTS
  48. The judges will announce the 2026 Irish Cheese Awards during the Ambassadors Dinner on the evening of the day of judging. All results will be available to entrants in their online accounts and on the Dairy Connect website www.dairy-connect.com within 48 hours of the judging.
  49. The Organisers are unable to provide individual companies with their results over the telephone.
  50. The Organisers may share Dairy Connect Irish Cheese Awards winning entrants’ email addresses with carefully selected partners for the purposes of stocking winning products. The Organisers may share Dairy Connect Irish Cheese Awards winning entrants’ details with relevant sponsors or media contacts for promotional purposes only. If you do not want your company details shared with third party organisations, please contact the Organisers to make this clear. The Organisers use Google Analytics to assess MyGuild data for its own purposes.
  51. DISPUTES
  52. The Arbitrator’s decision will be final. Any appeal must be made in writing and sent by email, FAO: Lynn Harte, (lynn@dairy-connect.com) within 7 days of the judging.
  53. GENERAL
  54. The entry payment will allow the entrant to submit, and Dairy Connect to accept, the agreed number of cheese samples. These samples must be delivered free of charge, including transport and any other costs, on a timely basis and in good order to one of our consolidation points, as agreed prior to your shipment. At this point the samples are the property and responsibility of Dairy Connect.
  55. Dairy Connect undertakes not to onward sell any of the samples and to dispose of the unused samples in a responsible way, priorisiting environmental and sustainable practices wherever possible.
  56. The entire process is managed and directed from Dairy Connect's registered office in Harrogate, UK.
  57. Dairy Connect Ireland reserves the right to re-schedule the timetable for the supply and tasting of the products and of the events and results announcements.