The second Goss.ie Women of the Year Awards will take place on Sunday, October 1st, at The Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire, with well-known broadcaster and entrepreneur Gráinne Seoige as host.
The star-studded event will honour women across multiple genres, including business, sports, the arts, social justice and more.
We have also launched two people’s choice awards, including a ‘Local Hero’ category, where Goss.ie readers can nominate local women in their area who have contributed to their communities; as well as ‘Local Businesswoman’ where readers can vote for women in business in their locality.
This year the awards are in partnership with Google, Catrice Cosmetics, Gym Plus, Local Enterprise Office and Xin Gin.
Women’s Aid is our official charity partner for 2023 once again, and we will also be running a charity raffle on the day to raise funds for the charity.
Our highly esteemed and all-female judging panel will decide the winners of each category.
Our Businesswoman of the Year category, sponsored by Google, includes incredible women who are making a huge impact in their chosen industries.
Whether they’re building a beauty empire or making important changes in the pharmaceutical world, these nominees are all worthy winners.
Take a look at this year’s nominees:
Aimee Connolly
Founder of Sculpted by Aimee
Established by Aimee Connolly back in 2016, Sculpted by Aimee has become one of the fastest-growing Irish brands in the beauty market.
The brand, which recorded pretax profits of €3.04 million last year, sells a range of makeup brushes, palettes, lipsticks, lashes, foundations, instant tan, and skincare products.
Last September, Aimee impressively opened her first-ever Sculpted by Aimee store on Dublin’s Grafton Street. Marking a huge milestone for her beauty company.
She has since opened her second Sculpted by Aimee store in Kildare Village and launched her brand in the UK.
Sonia Deasy
Founder of Pestle & Mortar
Sonia Deasy co-founded the popular skincare brand Pestle & Mortar with just one product back in 2014.
Since then, the brand has expanded its much-loved product portfolio, which is now available in 21 countries across three continents.
In 2020, accumulated profits at the skincare company rose to €1.44 million, proving substantial growth in a highly competitive market.
Jeananne O’Brien
Founder and Director of Artizan Food Co and Eatto
Jeananne O’Brien is the founding director of not one, but two companies.
16 years after establishing Artizan Food Co., Jeananne set up Eatto – a meal subscription service that offers a contemporary solution to meal planning and home cooking.
Eatto supplies its customers with the best Irish ingredients and supports local artisan suppliers where possible.
Over the past three years, the company’s meals have won a number of Great Taste Awards.
Gráinne Mullins
Founder of Grá Chocolates
Gráinne Mullins is the founder of the wildly successful Grá’s Chocolates.
She grew up in Galway, with a great love and respect for good food – stemming from her family.
The self-taught chef won the prestigious 2019 Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year, and subsequently founded Grá’s Chocolates the following year.
Grá’s Chocolates boasts the use of the finest ingredients in the world, including the ethically sourced Valrhona Chocolate, Casa Luker cocoa butter and the world’s best dairy produce – Irish cream and butter.
In March 2023, Gráinne was listed on the coveted Forbes 30 under 30 Europe list for 2023.
Chupi Sweetman
Founder of Chupi
Chupi Sweetman founded her popular jewellery brand in 2011.
After becoming the youngest ever designer to work for Topshop (at the age of 21), she decided to move from fast fashion to something that lasts forever – her signature diamonds.
Chupi now employs over 60 people, and sells their products internationally, from London to Tokyo.
In recent years the brand has stood out across social platforms, with its official Instagram account hailed for its stunning photography and touching love stories.
With over 153,000 followers to date, Chupi’s digital strategy is definitely paying off.
Sharon Cunningham and Orlaith Ryan
Founders of 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.
Shorla Oncology was awarded Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur in 2019, and in 2020 was named Local Enterprise of the Year at the Irish Times Business Awards.
In March, Shorla Oncology secured FDA approval to bring a drug designed to treat T-cell leukaemia to the US market.
The Businesswoman of the Year award is sponsored by Google.
Google’s Mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
Google Ireland is Google’s EMEA HQ and serves as a hub for dozens of functions and teams supporting Google’s global operations. Since opening 20 years ago in 2003, Google Ireland has grown to a workforce of over 9,000 people from over 100 nations.
