The Federation of Irish Sport has published the shortlist of finalists for the 2025 Irish Sport Industry Awards.
The event will be held on Tuesday, 20th May, at the prestigious College Green Hotel in Dublin. It will celebrate the power and impact of sport across Ireland.
With 11 award categories spotlighting excellence in innovation, collaboration, and inclusivity, the Irish Sport Industry Awards highlight the individuals, businesses, and organisations shaping the future of Irish sport.
Today, eight competitive categories have been announced (see below for the list of nominees).
The night will also see the unveiling of three coveted individual honours for the Outstanding Achievement and Contribution to Sport Award, the KPMG Women in Sport Award and the Jimmy Magee Sports Coverage of the Year Award, as chosen by the Association of Sports Journalists Ireland.
Mary O’Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, said, “The Federation is delighted to host the 8th annual Irish Sport Industry Awards, which recognise and reward excellence in the business of sport and entrepreneurship. Sport has a unique potential to drive positive change in Irish society regarding health, education, social integration, tourism, and economic growth. These awards provide an important opportunity to recognise the multibillion euro value of the sport sector to the Irish economy and celebrate the work of the more than 64,000 people employed within the sector.”
Jill Downey, Chief Sponsorship and Sustainability Officer, Core and Chair of the Judging Panel, added, “My fellow judges and I were blown away by the innovative, dedicated, and progressive work happening across sport right now. I want to thank the judges for taking such care and attention, reviewing every entry in detail. Many of the categories were so difficult to call with multiple worthy winners. It’s an exciting time to be part of a vibrant and thriving sports industry.”
2025 Finalists
Best Commercial Partnership in Sport, presented by Dublin City Sports & Wellbeing Partnership
Ladies Gaelic Football Association and TG4, Lidl Ireland
Olympic Federation of Ireland and Flogas
Paralympic Ireland and Nestlé Cereals
Athletics Ireland and 123.ie
Best Use of Communications Platforms in Sport, presented by Future Ticketing
Leave No Trace Ireland, Love This Place
IRFU, Irish Rugby+ in partnership with WiiStream
Athletics Ireland, Irish Runner Magazine
Football Association of Ireland, League of Ireland
Best Initiative to Promote Women in Sport & Physical Activity presented by Opel Ireland
Mayo Local Sports Partnership, ‘Mayo.ie Western People Women’s Mini Marathon’
Basketball Ireland, SOCIA-Ball
Athletics Ireland, The Girls Squad
Badminton Ireland, BadminTEEN
Best Initiative to Promote Inclusivity in Sport & Physical Activity by a Local Sports Partnership Presented by A&L Goodbody
Laois Sports Partnership, Translation of Safeguarding 1 Training into Ukrainian
Wicklow Sports Partnership, Urban Outdoor Recreation
Wexford Sports Partnership, Nature Walker app
Donegal Sports Partnership, Sport 4 Empowerment
Best Initiative to Promote Inclusivity in Sport & Physical Activity by a National Governing Body presented by A&L Goodbody
Cycling Ireland, Project Moljnir
Canoeing Ireland, PaddleAble programme
Irish Wheelchair Association Sport, Treaty Rollers multi-sport club
Football Association of Ireland, Cairdeas Cup Festival
Local Sports Partnership of the Year, presented by Clann Credo
Fingal Sports Council
Mayo Sports Partnership
Laois Sports Partnership
Leitrim Sports Partnership
Governing Body of the Year, presented by Marsh
Badminton Ireland
Athletics Ireland
Basketball Ireland
Squash Ireland
Best New Sports Business of the Year, presented by Sport Ireland
Skippio
Hexis
KineMo
Sports Impact Technologies
Best Sports Business of the Year, presented by Technology Ireland DIGITAL Skillnet
WiiStream
Irish American Events Ltd. (IAEL)
ClubSpot
Quiz Wizards
To be announced on the 20th May 2025 at the awards ceremony:
Jimmy Magee FIS/Association of Sports Journalist Ireland Sports Coverage of the Year Award
KPMG Women in Business in Sport Award
Outstanding Achievement & Contribution to Sport Award
Behind the Judging: Meet the Experts who deliberated for five hours in Dublin yesterday and for many more in advance and who are pictured above (LtoR)
Clare Louise O’Donoghue, Federation of Irish Sport
Ronan McCormack, Group Marketing Manager, Dalata Group Hotel
Brenda O’Donnell, CEO Active Disability Ireland
Elma Beirne, Associate Director, Talent & Marketing Representation, Wasserman Ireland
Jill Downey, Chief Sponsorship & Sustainability Officer, Core
Ronan Donagher, Former Head of Games Systems
Rob Hartnett, Founder, CEO Sport for Business
Tom Fox, Co-Founder of 53Six
Maeve Buckley, Director, Leading Sport
Shane Califf, Head of the Organisational Development & Change Unit, Sport Ireland
Catherine Tiernan, Commercial Director, Olympic Federation of Ireland
Stephen Bradshaw, Head of Marketing, Close Brothers Motor Finance
Ger McTavish, Disability in Sport Lead, Sport Ireland (not pictured)
Further Reading for Sport for Business members:
Check out Sport for Business coverage of Sponsorship
SPORT FOR BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
Congratulations to all those shortlisted and those who did not quite make it in a very strong year. Best of luck now for when the winners are announced.
WHAT’S UP NEXT?
The Awards will take place at the College Green Hotel in Dublin on Tuesday night, May 20th
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