News

Giant show response

By Eamon Kurta

Mar 12, 2026

Arthur and Henry McLean with their second placed junior competition pumpkin.

The giant pumpkin competition once again proved a crowd pleaser at this year’s Deni Show, with some of the entries large enough to almost be climbed - by the smallest show fans at least.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

The heaviest tipped the scales at about 70kg, with others of varying sizes adding competition.

The two men tasked with lifting and weighing them certainly earned their keep, wrestling each hefty pumpkin onto the scales.

While none of this year’s growers came close to the long‑standing 1.2‑tonne record out of the UK, the display still turned plenty of heads and with the enthusiasm on show, you’d never rule out someone chasing it down in the years ahead.

The guessing competition kept families lingering around the display, and growers were more than happy to chat about their season, their seeds and their hopes for next year.

In the open section, Robert Heritage won bragging rights with the heaviest, followed by Richie Hannon in second and Michael Pisasale in third.

In the junior section, Isabel and Jacqueline Hannan entered the heaviest pumpkin, with Henry and Arthur Mclean second and Lucy Pisasale third.

• Other results can be found on pages 16-19, and on page 23.