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 Trailblazer of the Year category was designed to shine a light on important voices who are fighting for change in Ireland and beyond.
Whether they’re lobbying the government for legislation, using their platform to campaign for a cause close to their heart, or telling their stories in order to help others – these nominees are all incredible in their own right.Â
Check out this year’s nominees below:
Linda Keating
Linda Keating is the Director of Fundraising at The Marie Keating Foundation, which was established by the Keating family in 2001 after losing their beloved mother Marie to breast cancer at the age of 51.
The foundation provides Irish citizens with vital information, advice and support on the signs of symptoms of cancer, early detection of cancer, and helps prevent cancer.
Through their services, they reach thousands of people a year, giving education, information and advice focused on cancer prevention and early detection, as well as providing support services and financial assistance to those living with and beyond cancer.
As Director of Fundraising, Linda manages a busy schedule of extensive events and activities to raise critical funds for the foundation.
As the driving force behind the charity, she has dedicated her career and life to her
mothers memory while helping so many women across Ireland fight breast cancer.
Dr Katriona O’Sullivan
Dr Katriona O’Sullivan is a qualified psychologist, lecturer and more recently, an author.
Her debut memoir Poor recalls her experience of growing up in extreme poverty as one of five children in a home altered by her parents’ heroin addiction, to establishing herself and graduating with a PhD from Trinity College.
Poor, which was published in May, debuted at #1 on the Irish Non-Fiction bestseller list.
Katriona is also the principal investigator of the STEM Passport for Inclusion projects – which supports and promotes STEM education and careers to SocioEconomically Disadvantaged (SED) girls across Ireland in the hope of contributing to equality and diversity in STEM careers.
Holly Cairns
Holly Cairns, who has been Leader of the Social Democrats since March 2023, is the youngest leader of a political party in Ireland.
The 33-year-old is the only female TD in Co. Cork, and has encouraged the younger generation to get involved in politics and fight for the change.
The politician previously won praise for her open criticism of the government’s approach to redressing the Mother and Baby Home survivors, and is well-known for speaking out about women’s rights and issues.
Eve McDowell
Trained in stalking awareness education & campaigning, disclosure and sexual consent promotion, and just completed a masters in Public Advocacy & Activism, Eve McDowell co-founded Stalking Ireland in March 2021.
A number of years ago, the 24-year-old suffered a terrifying ordeal in which her stalker, who was a former acquaintance of hers, broke into her home and swung at her roommate with a hammer before she fought back and he then ran away.
During her time in court, which saw her stalker end up in jail until this year, Eve discovered there was no law against stalking in Ireland.
Eve spearheaded a national campaign alongside Una Ring, fellow co-founder, which called on the Irish Department of Justice to enact a standalone stalking offence.
She also has provided support to those experiencing stalking. Since July, stalking is now recognised as a crime in Ireland.
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.
Cara Darmody
12-year-old Cara Darmody is a budding young autism activist.
The Tipperary native is not autistic, but has two autistic brothers Neil, 10, and John 5, who are both non-verbal.
As part of her advocacy to draw attention to the 20,000 people awaiting autism assessments in Ireland, Cara sat both Leaving Certificate ordinary level maths papers in June.
In August, the 12-year-old became the youngest person in Ireland to pass Leaving Certificate maths, in which she scored 97%.
In recent months, Cara has travelled weekly to Leinster House to meet with politicians to highlight her campaign and try to enact change.
Sarah Lavin
Sarah Lavin has achieved so much this year, despite the personal hurdles she’s faced.
The 29-year-old athlete, who represented Ireland at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was devastated by the tragic death of her rally driver boyfriend Craig Breen in April.
Amid her grief, the Limerick native has continued to break records in the sporting world.
In August, Sarah broke Derval O’Rourke’s 13-year 100m hurdles mark with a time of 12:62 at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
The following month, Sarah smashed another national record, breaking Phil Healy’s 2018 mark by one hundredth of a second at the Gala dei Castelli in Switzerland – making her Ireland’s fastest woman.
Deborah SomorinÂ
After finding herself homeless at just 13 years old and pregnant at 14, Deborah Somorin is now a chartered accountant and manager at Ernst & Young.
In 2018, Deborah drew on her unique experiences to found a non-profit charity and approved housing body called Empower the Family (EtF), which plans to develop social student housing for disadvantaged single parents and state care leavers between the ages of 18-23 years old.
In 2022, Deborah released a memoir titled Believing in Me, in which she recalls the challenges of homelessness, family breakdown and teenage pregnancy.
That same year, the accountant released a children’s picture book called I Believe in You, bringing her empowering message to a new generation.
Her charity work also landed her a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe list in 2020.
