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.
The News Industry Award honours journalists and broadcasters who always have their finger on the pulse when it comes to current affairs.
From hosting political panels to reporting on public interest stories at home and abroad, these dedicated women have made a name for themselves in a tough industry.
Take a look at this year’s nominees:
Zara King
Zara King remains one of the top news reporters in the country.
Since getting her start in journalism, the Waterford native has worked for a number of news outlets – including iRadio, Newstalk and ITV.
The Virgin Media News correspondent has become a trusted source for news through her personal social media channels, boasting an impressive following on both Instagram and Twitter.
Zara also hosts a popular podcast called The Group Chat with her Virgin Media colleagues and close friends Richards Chambers and Gavan Reilly.
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.
Sinéad Hussey
Sinéad Hussey got her start in journalism with the Longford News.
Fast forward nearly two decades later, the mum-of-one landed a role as RTÉ’s Midlands Correspondent in July 2022.
Prior to this, she held the position of North East Correspondent for three years.
Earlier this year, Sinéad won praise for speaking out about the RTÉ payments scandal.
The broadcaster took part in staff protests at Montrose, and admitted she felt “very let down as a staff member,” but also “very let down for the public”.
Katie Hannon
Katie Hannon is a seasoned journalist, radio and TV presenter.
She previously worked with the Evening Herald, the Irish Examiner and was political editor of Ireland on Sunday from 2002 until 2004.
Katie began her career with RTÉ in 2004. From 2018 to 2022, she presented RTÉ Radio 1’s The Late Debate and Saturday with Katie Hannon.
The journalist has hosted her own self-titled weekly current affairs TV programme, Upfront with Katie Hannon, since January 2023.
Ciara Phelan
Ciara Phelan is a political correspondent with the Irish Examiner.
Last year, she won Young Journalist of the Year at the Newsbrands Ireland Awards for her work as the Irish Daily Mirror’s political correspondent.
In June, the journalist launched The Ciara Phelan Podcast, on which she has interviewed a variety of people – including Ireland AM’s Katja Mia, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, and influencer Charleen Murphy.
Colette Fitzpatrick
Colette Fitzpatrick is one of Ireland’s most experienced TV and radio broadcasters.
The Tipperary native has been one of the main news anchors at Virgin Media News since September 2006, presenting the broadcaster’s weekday news bulletins the 12.30 and The 5.30.
The mum-of-one has anchored five-hour broadcasts on the historic state visits of US President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II.
Colette has also reported on a number of news stories abroad – including the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal, the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, and the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.
Caitriona Perry
Caitriona Perry has been an integral part of the Irish news sphere for over a decade,
The mum-of-two was RTÉ’s Washington correspondent from February 2013 until December 2017.
The following January, Caitriona joined the Six One News team, and co-presented the show until earlier this year.
Last month, Caitriona left RTÉ to take on a new international role as Chief Presenter with the BBC – which will see her based in Washington D.C.
Emma O’Kelly
Emma O’Kelly is RTÉ’s Education Correspondent and Chair of the National Union of Journalists’ Dublin Broadcasting Branch.
While already well known for her education reports, Emma came to renewed prominence this summer when she spoke out passionately to highlight the importance of public service media and to defend hardworking ordinary staff at RTÉ in the face of the recent payments scandal at the broadcaster.
Since the crisis erupted in late June, Emma has led a grassroots campaign against lax governance at RTÉ, as well as the eye-watering salaries and perks paid to a few at the top of the organisation while colleagues went without maternity pay, sick pay and pension entitlements.
