Huge Effigy of Pope Francis Wins Annual Irish Scarecrow Festival

A massive straw pope has won the ninth annual All-Ireland Scarecrow Championship just weeks before the pontiff is slated to visit the Emerald Isle.

Touted as “one of the most popular festivals in the country,” the yearly Durrow Scarecrow Festival judges entries of the most innovative and imaginative scarecrows. This year’s festival concluded on August 6 and awarded its top prize to the Pope Francis scarecrow.

The giant-sized model of Pope Francis in his popemobile, which could wave to the crowd at the touch of a button, was created for the annual Irish festival by the Conahy Vintage Club, a group of men in Durrow, Co Laois, which includes engineers and carpenters.

Organizers say that the Durrow festival is a week of “uninhibited imagination, creativity, music, food and fun” and above all else “the scarecrows.” Judged on a 40-point system, entries are evaluated for their materials (straw is a must), design and appearance, creativity, and concept.

Each year, gigantic topical depictions, from Donald Trump to King Kong to “The Handmaid’s Bale” grace the festival where size clearly matters.

“We always think that big is beautiful,” said Michael Bergin, Chairman of the Conahy Vintage Club. “There was work for everybody in it from steel to straw, overalls, shoes down to making tea and having a chat. You make it up as you go along.”

The Conahy Vintage Club is always a contender in the annual event, winning last year’s contest with an exhibit titled “The Greatest Show on Earth,” which featured a Ferris wheel and a monstrous King Kong scarecrow.

“People expect it, King Kong was higher than a two-storey house, people have that expectation from this group of men,” said Evelyn Clancy, the Chairwoman of the Durrow Development Forum.

The village of Durrow—with a population of just 811—lies some 70 miles southwest of the Irish capital, Dublin, where Pope Francis will preside over the World Meeting of Families on August 25-26.

Francis will be the first pope to visit Ireland since Pope John Paul II in 1979. The Irish Rail has announced extra trains running for those traveling to Dublin for the Pope’s visit, with a capacity of up to 250,000 for those traveling to the Papal Mass in Phoenix Park on Sunday, August 26.

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