The second annual Goss.ie Women of the Year Awards took place on Sunday, October 1st, at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire.
Hosted by broadcaster and entrepreneur Gráinne Seoige, the event celebrated women across multiple genres – including business, the arts, social justice and sports.
Two special categories called ‘Local Hero’ and ‘Local Businesswoman’ also honoured women put forward by Goss.ie readers who have made an impact in their local area.
Members of the Republic of Ireland Women’s National Football Team were honoured with a special Women of the Year award during the ceremony.
The team, lead by captain Katie McCabe, made history earlier this year when they qualified for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia.
2023 will forever be remembered as the year that Ireland came together to support these amazing women, and its safe to say they won the hearts of the nation.
Check out the full list of winners below:
Businesswoman of the Year (sponsored by Google) – Sharon Cunningham and Orlaith Ryan (Shorla Oncology)
Sharon Cunningham and Orlaith Ryan co-founded the specialty pharmaceutical company Shorla Oncology in 2018.
The company, which is based in Clonmel, Tipperary and Cambridge, Massachusetts, researches, develops and commercialises innovative oncology treatments for women’s and paediatric cancers.
In March, Shorla Oncology secured FDA approval to bring a drug designed to treat T-cell leukaemia to the US market.
Sportswoman of the Year (sponsored by Gym Plus) – Rhasidat Adeleke
Rhasidat Adeleke is one to watch in Irish sports.
At just 21 years of age, she has collected some fantastic medals – including five gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze medal since 2017.
The athlete signed a deal with Nike ahead of making her professional debut at the Monaco Diamond League.
The following month, the Tallaght native became the first Irish sprint finalist at the World Athletics Championship in 14 years, since David Gillick and Derval O’Rourke back in 2009.
Rising Star – Niamh Donnelly
Niamh Donnelly is co-founder and Chief Robotics Officer of Akara Robotics, an AI company focused on delivering innovative robotic solutions in healthcare.
The engineer oversees the development of AI and machine learning at Akara Robotics, and played a key role in the development and validation of the company’s ‘Stevie’ robot – which featured on the cover of Time magazine in 2019.
The Dublin native was recognised globally as one of the ‘50 Women In Robotics You Need To Know About’ by Robohub.
Last December, Niamh also won the Rising Innovator Award at the 2022 EU Prize for Women Innovators.
Artist of the Year (sponsored by Catrice Cosmetics) – RuthAnne
RuthAnne Cunningham is the mastermind behind a host of chart-topping singles, which you may not have realised until now.
The Dublin native got her start in the music industry in 2010 after signing to Sony ATV as a songwriter and producer, and has since co-written a number of hit songs – including JoJo’s Too Little Too Late, Niall Horan’s Slow Hands, and Westlife’s Beautiful World.
In 2018, the songstress released her first single The Vow, which has become a favourite of Love Island couple Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury.
Although it was released five years prior, the song saw a huge surge in popularity earlier this year after it played an integral role in the couple’s lavish engagement.
As the professional boxer got down on one knee in Ibiza, the Grammy-nominated artist, who spearheaded Irish Women in Harmony, sang The Vow for them live.
The News Industry Award – Miriam O’Callaghan
Miriam O’Callaghan continues to shed light on important issues and spearhead essential investigations through RTÉ’s Prime Time.
The mum-of-eight has helmed the current affairs programme since 1996, and regularly reports on key societal issues such as climate change, the housing crisis, and the cost of living crisis.
The seasoned journalist has enjoyed a rewarding career in journalism so far, and continues to ask hard-hitting, important questions during one-on-one interviews with our country’s leaders.
Miriam was also named the frontrunner to take over The Late Late Show from Ryan Tubridy earlier this year, after becoming the first woman to host RTÉ’s flagship programme during the pandemic.
However, she quickly pulled her name out of the race, citing her dedication to Prime Time.
Trailblazer of the Year – Therese Coveney and Cathy Smith
Therese Coveney founded unique college and social enterprise café The Together Academy, which aims to provide young adults with Down syndrome specialised certified training, on-the-job experience, work placements and a critical social support network.
Passionate about disability advocacy and support, Programme Director Cathy Smith came on board in the project’s infancy.
Discovering the shocking statistic that 90% of adults with Down syndrome are unemployed in Ireland, Therese and Cathy, who are both parents to children with Down’s syndrome, welcomed the challenge of changing the employment landscape for people with additional needs.
The Together Academy, which was founded back in 2019, now has four cafés spread across Dublin.
Best Start-Up (sponsored by Local Enterprise Office) – ReFunk
Friends Anna Sheehan, Ellie Waters, Meredith Davis and Ellen Ryall established ReFunk while completing a master’s in marketing back in 2020.
The sustainably-focused business connects conscious customers with freelance upcyclers who breathe new life into old furniture.
Their aim is to eliminate furniture waste and extend the life of existing furniture with a little bit of TLC.
Writer of the Year (sponsored by Casillero del Diablo) – Liz Nugent
Liz Nugent has enjoyed a rewarding career in film, theatre, television and literature.
The Dublin native’s first novel Unravelling Oliver was published in March 2014, and subsequently won Crime Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards as well as being long listed for the International Dublin Literature Prize 2016.
In 2021, Liz accepted the James Joyce Medal from the L&H Society of University College Dublin – previous recipients of which include former US President Bill Clinton and renowned Irish poet Seamus Heaney.
Liz has authored five crime novels in total, the latest of which, Strange Sally Diamond, was published in March to rave reviews.
Local Businesswoman – Dara Shortt (Comfort Homecare)
Dara Shortt founded Comfort Homecare in response to the growing need for person-centred care in the comfort of their own homes.
After being made redundant during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dara established her own business at 56 years of age.
The Kildare native has always had a passion for helping others, and has always extended a hand of compassion towards people in her local community, providing discreet help and support to local families which she was aware were struggling.
Dara’s devotion to care is readily apparent, often working a seven-day week and previously driving inter-county for as long as ten hours a day, taking on house calls by herself – all while being “the best mother and grandmother anyone could ask for”.
Still in its infancy, Comfort Homecare has come an impressive way since it was first founded in July 2020, now employing over 150 people from the community.
Local Hero (sponsored by Xin Gin) – Ciara Jones
Branded an “unsung hero in the autism community”, Ciara Jones is truly a force to be reckoned with.
Nominated by a fellow parent in the autism community, the mother-of-three has been advocating for autistic people since her son Gavin was diagnosed with autism back in 2011 when he was almost two years old.
Ciara is currently in the process of organising her annual Sparkle for Autism Ball, founded in 2016, which raises much needed funds for AsIAm, Ireland’s national autism charity.
Alongside her stepson Michael, she also founded Ireland’s largest family 5km run, called Run4Autism, to fundraise for AsIAm – and together they have raised over €224,000 for the community so far.
If that wasn’t enough, she also opened the Autism Support Hub in 2020, which she created to support families and parents of autistic people.
All the winners of each category at the awards were chosen by a highly-esteemed panel of all-female judges.
The judging panel included Olympian Derval O’Rourke, Head of External Communications at Google Ireland Julie Dilger, Member of the European Parliament Frances Fitzgerald, Sports and Entertainment Broadcaster Gráinne McElwain, Senior Enterprise Development Executive Deirdre Carroll, Founder and MD of Seahorse Media Debbie O’Donnell, Broadcaster Muireann O’Connell, Founder and MD of Bolter Media Gillian Fitzpatrick, Founder and MD of Unicorn PR & Communications Valerie O’Reilly, Founder and CEO of Goss Media Alexandra Ryan, and Editor of Goss.ie Kendra Becker.
This year the awards were in partnership with Google, Catrice Cosmetics, Gym Plus, Local Enterprise Office and Xin Gin.
Before the event kicked off, some of our VIP guests got glam with our makeup partner Catrice Cosmetics, and had their hair styled by Robert Chambers Hair Salon.
Guests were treated to a reception of Xin Gin and tonics, before sitting down for a three-course luncheon in the stunning surroundings of the Royal Marine Hotel, with wine supplied by Casillero del Diablo.
During the ceremony, attendees were also surprised by a performance by up-and-coming singer-songwriter Ruby O’Kelly.
Guests also went home with a jam-packed goodie bag – including treats from Dripping Gold, Alter Ego, Aspects Beauty, Catrice Cosmetics, Gym Plus, and Xin Gin.
Women’s Aid was our official charity partner for 2023 once again and their CEO, Sarah Benson, delivered a keynote speech at the awards.
A raffle also took place on the day to raise funds for the charity, with amazing prizes up for grabs – including a diamond necklace from Chupi; an overnight stay from Neville Hotels; afternoon tea for two at the Royal Marine Hotel; one year Entertainment and Cinema membership for NOW; two three month Gym Plus memberships; one year wreath subscription for Flowerpop, hampers from Catrice Cosmetics, SuperValu, Xin Gin, and Sugar Plum Sweetery, plus 2 x tickets to Ireland v Wales at the 2024 Six Nations on February 24th with Irish rugby jerseys from Vodafone.
Women’s Aid is a national frontline organisation working to stop domestic violence in Ireland since 1974.
Every day, they prevent and address the impact of domestic violence, including coercive control and all forms of abuse against women and children.
They do this by providing free and confidential support services including the 24hr National Freephone Helpline on 1800 341 900 and an Instant Message Support Service at
www.womensaid.ie, mornings and evenings, 7 days a week.
They also provide Face to-Face support, small grants and financial assistance for women and support during court proceedings.
They also operate a project for women in high-risk situations and a pioneering programme in maternity hospitals.
Women’s Aid works to building a society with a zero tolerance of domestic abuse and all forms of violence against women by support Women’s Aid to advocate, influence, train, and campaign to reduce the scale of domestic abuse and the damage it causes to women, children and society.
