Photos courtesy of Sam Hartshorn

Congratulations to our new Queen of the Warriors 2026

Queen of the Warriors 2026 took place on 19 April 2026 at The George, bringing together players, supporters and friends of the Emerald Warriors RFC for the club’s most vibrant and anticipated fundraising nights of the year. Funds raised go towards the running of the club for all of our dual, contact, non-contact and pavilion members. This is the fifth consecutive year of Queen Of The Warriors, since taking a break during the pandemic, and needless to say the energy in The George was positively electric as always!!!

The event could not have taken place without the nine amazing queens who took to the stage on the night and sashayed, death dropped, glitter-bombed and brought the house down boots (I don’t know about you, but I’m still finding glitter around the house)!

Funds raised go towards the running of the club for all of our dual, contact, non-contact and pavilion members.

This year’s contestants Bussy Saint-George, Justa Lady, It’s Beardney, Bitch!, Madame Pousse, Havana Queeries, Is-a-bella!, Mo’Stasha Fierce, Le Bottomie and Miss PeekAtYou delivered an unforgettable show.

Photos courtesy of Sam Hartshorn

Thanks also to Emi Gration (Morgan Bolger) who not only did a promotional performance at The George the previous weekend – absolutely slaying it on the night, and reminding people of the quality that the Queen Of The Warriors is becoming known for – but also stepped in to support one of the group numbers when one of our performers had to bow out ahead of the show. And another huge thanks to Club President, Gary Gaughan, who works tirelessly in the background, for this and all activities in the club to the benefit of our members.

Photos courtesy of Sam Hartshorn

Two of the queens this year were committee members Niall Slaughter and Manny Malaga, with Niall organising the event in the lead up to the show and Manny supporting on social media. There were six weeks of rehearsals for solo and group performances, where the nine queens picked their songs, created their drag aesthetic, devised choreography, rehearsed some more, all culminating in the final two – It’s Beardney Bitch (Caio Polcheira) and La Bottomie (Orly Mahoney), with La Bottomie edging out It’s Beardney Bitch for them to take home the crown!!!

Congratulations LA Bottomie, Our new reigning Queen of the Warriors!!!

A heartfelt thank you to all the event organisers, volunteers, token and ticket sellers, stage hands and coordinators who made the night such a success. Thanks to Ryan Reid and Shane Raftery for sourcing absolutely incredible raffle prizes, and to all of the volunteers on the night who supported the event, in particular Fiona Larmon and Gary Gaughan for managing the event on the day. Another big thank you goes to The George for being a fantastic support to our club, along with Shirley Temple Bar for hosting the event, and the judges: Davina Devine and Dolly Grip!

Thank you again to everyone who made Queen Of The Warriors what it was this year, we're already looking forward to next year!!

A Message from our new Queen

What an absolute dream it is to be the Queen (King) of the Warriors 2026! I have never done anything like this before, but I was so inspired by Emi Gration's performance last year I figured why not try something new.

I loved rehearsing with my fellow queens, and it was especially meaningful to get to know members of the club outside the Azures. Dozens of rhinestones and six weeks spent googling 'magic mike moves' later, I still can't believe I got to bring home the crown!

I have to say a special thank you to Morgan, Niall, Justin, Ella-Kay, and Fiona, as well as the countless others who gave their time and effort to the event. I would never have been able to show off my mirror muscles without all your hard work.

Thank you all so very much, and don't forget to stay pumped!

La Bottomie AKA Orly Mahoney