The Blue Jean Country Queen Festival was the brainchild of Patrick Farrelly, a member of Carnaross Macra na Feirme. After several visits to The Rose of Tralee, Patrick was so impressed by that festival that he wanted to start a similar festival in Meath. One day, while out driving on his Massy Ferguson 188 he heard “I’m a Blue Jean Country Queen” being performed by Irish country music icon Philomena Begley and  inspiration struck!

The very first Blue Jean Country Queen Festival took place in June 1987. It included many of the elements that would become mainstays of the festival to this day, including the Queen’s on stage interviews, fashion show, fancy dress football and the Gala Banquet.

One of the quirks of the early festivals was that the Kirwin Arms in Athboy had no function room large enough to hold the banquet and Queens and committee had to be bussed to a nearby hotel and then back to Athboy to find out the winner!

Since 1987, many new elements have been added including the Saturday Carnival and Craft Fair, Sunday the Lark in the Park which have opened up the festival to the entire local community. It has also seen plenty of celebrity involvement from guest emcees like Brendan Grace, Ray D’Arcy, Hector Ó hEochagáin and musical performances from Voice of Ireland contestant Nigel Connell.

Since Samantha Baldwin from Wicklow claimed first claimed the title of Blue Jean Country Queen, Queens have come from all over Ireland and across the globe to compete for the crown. Over the past 30 years Queens have come from England, Scotland, America, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Slovakia and each year the Autonne Villages in Picardy, France, with whom the town of Athboy is twinned, send a French Queen.

Foregin visitors have taken home the title on several occasions with two Scottish contestants, one New Yorker and a French Queen coming away victorious. Domestically,  Limerick, Cork Queens have had the best luck in the competition! Meath, despite being the home county, has only claimed the title on three occasions. In 2010, Celine Smyth, became the first (and to date) only Athboy local to win the crown.

Three years later, in 2013, Celine would be chair of the festival during one of it’s most challening periods. That year was the year the Old Darnley Lodge Hotel, the town’s only hotel and home to many of the festival’s key events, closed. This led to the 2013 committee and the community of Athboy working together to make sure the festival could go ahead without a hotel. As a result, the interviews took place in Athboy’s St James Hall, the banquet was faciliated in the gym of Athboy Community School with the night time events taking place in the festival marquees in the carpark of the shuttered Darnley. The hotel came under new management in time for the 2014 festival and Blue Jeans has continued to take place at the now renamed Darnley Lodge Hotel ever since.

The festival was cancelled in 2001 during due to the Foot and Mouth disease outbreak and again in 2020-2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2019 Festival had seen a Meath winner once again in Aoife Scanlon from Enfield. Aoife, like Celine before her, was subsequently elected chairperson of the festival in 2022 and led the festival’s revival in 2023

2023, for the first time the festival opened with a trad session in Fagan’s Bar with the on stage interviews taking place on Saturday evening. Twisted-trad band Ruaile Buaile headlined on Saturday night while 90s tribute act Smash Hits performed on Sunday night. Another historic moment for the festival saw Niamh Sheehy from Kilkenny become the first winner from The Marble County in the festival’s history.

In 2024, the festival returned with a new chair and secretary in Paul Gill and Martin Flood. That year saw the return of the Pub Craw, now re-located to Friday evening, and the first ever winner from Cavan in Alannah Finnegan. 2025 saw the crown return to Waterford for the first time since 2003, when Amy Coffey won the title. Amy is not only from the same Macra club as 2003 winner Carol Byrne, but she is also her neice – marking the first time two members of the same family have won the title.