Tonight in Adare, the inaugural All-Ireland Podcast Awards take centre stage at the Sound.Waves summit, bringing together creators, broadcasters and producers for a celebration of the best in Irish audio.
The ceremony at the Woodlands Hotel & Spa is part of two days of conversations about the future of the industry. It is nowhere more evident than in the Sports category, one of the most competitive fields of the night.
As one of this year’s judges, I’ve had a front-row seat to the sheer range and quality of sports storytelling coming out of Ireland right now. What stood out immediately was how diverse the entries were, not just in sporting code but in tone, ambition and production style. The shortlist spans everything from national institutions to new arrivals, from daily broadcast-led shows to tightly crafted documentary series.
The GAA presence is unmistakable. Programmes like The Football Pod, Off The Ball Breakfast, The GAA Social, and talkSPORT Ireland’s Beyond the 45′ and Beyond the 65′ demonstrate the code’s grip on the Irish sporting imagination. Each brings its own flavour—some leaning on tactical insight, others on personality, nostalgia or honest self-reflection. What unites them is an intimacy with the subject that only comes from living inside the games they cover.
But this year’s category isn’t defined by GAA alone. The Offload with Tommy & Donncha brings rugby’s energy and humour to the table, while This Is Your LOIfe offers an affectionate, sharply made tour through the lives of League of Ireland greats. Indo Sport – A Closer Look delivers the analytical depth you’d expect from a national newsroom, slotting comfortably alongside the long-established gravitas of Second Captains.
Two of the most intriguing entries come from the documentary end of the spectrum. Corny: The Last Irishman in the NFL tells a rarely explored chapter of Irish sporting history with narrative polish and emotional punch. And talkSPORT Ireland’s MNÁsplaining, with its focus on women’s sport and underrepresented voices, feels like a marker of where Irish sports audio is heading—more inclusive, more reflective, more willing to expand what counts as a “sports story”.
Across the judging process, the emphasis has been on expertise, storytelling and passion—criteria that many of the shortlisted shows meet in very different ways. Some excel through meticulous research, others through chemistry and spontaneity. Some thrive in the structure of a multi-part narrative, while others succeed in the unpredictability of a daily or weekly format. The real challenge as a judge has been comparing podcasts that don’t just take different approaches but seem almost like different genres within sports audio.
What’s clear heading into tonight is that the established names are still delivering at an impressively high level, but newcomers are pushing them harder than ever, whether through fresher voices, new production styles or subjects that widen the sporting lens.
When the envelopes are opened later this evening, the winner will emerge from one of the strongest line-ups the Irish industry has produced. Regardless of whose name is called, the shortlist itself tells a story of a sector in full stride, with Irish sport, its characters, communities and complexities, proving to be some of the richest material in the country’s audio landscape.
Image Credit: Sport for Business, Sportsfile
Further Reading for Sport for Business members:
Read our Sport for Business Coverage of Media
SPORT FOR BUSINESS Upcoming Events
November 20th – Playing for the Planet – A new event focused on Sustainability in Sport with the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport
December 9th – Our 12th Annual Women in Sport Conference in partnership with Lidl.
January – The Sporting Year Ahead 2026 in partnership with Teneo.
Sport for Business Podcasts
MEMBERSHIP AND EVENT,
RTÉ, Sky, TG4 and many others in the media landscape, as well as all the leading sporting and business organisations in and around the world of sport, are among the 300+ members of the Sport for Business community.
This includes all of the leading sports and sponsors, as well as commercial and state agencies, individuals interested in our world, and an increasing number from beyond these shores taking a keen interest in Ireland.
Find out more about becoming a member today.
Or sign up for our twice-daily bulletins to get a flavour of the material we cover.
Sign up for our News Bulletins here.
