Indo Sport – A Closer Look has been crowned the first-ever Sports Category winner at the inaugural All-Ireland Podcast Awards, a landmark celebration of Ireland’s fast-growing audio sector held last night at The Woodlands Hotel in Adare.
The investigative-style sports strand from the Irish Independent topped a fiercely competitive field, with Second Captains named Runner-up and Corny: The Last Irishman in the NFL receiving a Commended honour.
The announcement came as part of a ceremony staged during the Sound.Waves conference and supported by Limerick.ie.
With a record number of submissions across all categories, the awards revealed a podcasting landscape that is expanding in ambition, quality, and creative scope.
The Sports award set the tone for an evening that showcased the breadth of talent across the island. Judges from major platforms including Spotify, BBC, Patreon, Wondery, Netflix, RTÉ, GoLoud, Journal Media and ONIC — alongside Irish and international industry leaders, including Rob Hartnett of Sport for Business — praised the editorial depth, production values and distinctive voice of Indo Sport – A Closer Look.
Beyond sport, the 2025 AIPA winners spanned true crime to politics, comedy to documentary, underlining the creative momentum behind Irish podcasting.
Full list of All-Ireland Podcast Award winners:
True Crime: The Real Carrie Jade
Runner-up: Where is Jón?
Commended: Stolen Sister
Documentary & Drama: Cover: Stakeknife
Runner-up: KidCast School Tour
Commended: Ireland Said Yes
Conversation: The Laughs of Your Life with Doireann Garrihy
Runner-up: The G Spot with Grace Alice
Commended: Family Flowers Only by Grief Ireland
Sport: Indo Sport – A Closer Look
Runner-up: Second Captains
Commended: Corny: The Last Irishman in the NFL
Business & Innovation: Engineers Journal – AMPLIFIED
Runner-up: The Entrepreneur Experiment
Commended: Exploring Ireland
Current Affairs & Politics: The Indo Daily
Runner-up: Irish Farmers Journal: Mercosur Special
Commended: The Explainer
Entertainment: Young Hot Guys
Runner-up: Lunchtime with Michael Fry
Commended: Marty Miller’s Music History (Nova)
Spotlight Award: Nicky Byrne, honoured for bridging the worlds of entertainment, broadcasting and podcast culture at this year’s Sound.Waves Summit.
Founder Kathryn Mason of MASONRY PR, the driving force behind the new awards, said the overwhelming appetite for participation confirmed the need for a dedicated, long-term platform to celebrate Irish audio:
“The huge interest we saw in this first year confirms to me that this is a vital platform for the podcast sector. This is not a one-off event; this is the start of a journey. We have a three-year plan to grow and scale these awards, making them bigger, better, and reaching every corner of this incredible community.”
Head Judge Dylan Haskins echoed that sentiment, emphasising both the competition and the camaraderie at the heart of the inaugural ceremony.
“The range and quality of entries we had shows there’s such a diverse mix of shows whether that’s from independent creators, commercial publishers or public service broadcasters – across the 32 counties. The winners of the inaugural awards have been recognised for their excellence – and awards by their nature involve competition, but the All-Ireland Podcast Awards are as much about having an annual moment of coming together and celebrating the work that’s been made – and all the better to do that in Limerick which is a county that has so much creativity running through it.”
Image Credit: Sport for Business, Sportsfile
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