29 May 2022
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Anna O’Donoghue- Kerry, Denise O’Donoghue- Cork, Sheila Reilly- Cavan and Caitlin Griffin- Galway, Irish Examiner
Pictured at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2022 at Fota Island Resort’
Photography By Gerard McCarthy
Marion Courtney and John O’Sullivan ,Tivoli
Pictured at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2022 at Fota Island Resort’
Photography By Gerard McCarthy
Nine women honoured at annual Network Cork branch awards ceremony
Nine women from across Cork were last night honoured for their professional achievements
at the Network Ireland Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards on Friday night at Fota
Island Resort.
Eight winners were chosen from 31 finalists and were announced at the group’s annual
black tie dinner and will now proceed to the national awards ceremony in Galway on October
7th. A separate President’s Award was also presented.
The winners were:
Solo Businesswoman sponsored by Ardin Career Development: Cathy Fitzgibbon, The
Culinary Celt
Emerging New Businesswoman sponsored by Kinsale Gin: Noella Carroll, Pinnaklo
Established Businesswoman sponsored by HerMoney: Sandra Looney, To Have and To
Hold
Rising Star Employee sponsored by Alive Coaching: Aoife Behan, The Montenotte Hotel
Shining Star Employee sponsored by Beacon Commercial Business Services: Gillian Roche,
GE Healthcare
Creative Professional sponsored by Hopkins Communications:
Orla McAndrew, Orla McAndrew Food
STEM sponsored by DePuy J&J: Sinead O’Flynn, Health 4 U
Power Within Champion sponsored by Invesco: Diane Higgins, Diane Higgins Design
‘The President’s Award’ sponsored by Grant Thornton was presented to Irene Wallace, Cork
Fire Service in recognition of her mental and physical courage, her inspiration and service to
the public, even during the pandemic, her appetite for continuous professional development,
all in a male dominated sector, and to highlight the importance of engagement between the
public and private sectors.
The event was hosted by Emmy-winning former CNN correspondent and anchor Gina
London, while guest speaker for the evening was Minister Michael McGrath.
President of Network Cork Maria Desmond congratulated this year’s award winners and paid
tribute to sponsors AIB, Cork City LEO and the judging panel for their support:
She said: “This year’s awards were the first we were able to host in two years in person and
it was incredible to see the collective support in the room that all of our members, finalists
and winners had for each other on the night. I would like to express my sincere
congratulations to all of the winners and hope they are immensely proud of their
achievements but would also like to congratulate our finalists.”
“We are also extremely grateful for the time and support provided by this year’s judging
panel in addition to the long-standing support of AIB and Cork City LEO,” Ms Desmond
added.
The winners in each category were determined by the judging panel of Linda Kiely, co-
founder Voxpro; Vicki Crean, AIB and Dr Niall O’Keeffe, LEO Cork City. They expressed
their delight at the opportunity to judge at the awards, and paid tribute to the standard of this
year’s applications.
AIB’s Vicki Crean said: “AIB has been the official national partner of Network Ireland since
2013, and we are delighted to continue our long-standing partnership with an organisation
dedicated to supporting and empowering women to succeed in their business and personal
lives. I was delighted to have been asked to judge this year’s awards and similar to previous
years the standard of applications was exceptionally strong and I congratulate each and
every one of the winners.”
Co-founder of Voxpro Linda Kiely said also expressed her congratulations this year’s award
nominees: “It was such a pleasure to be asked to judge this year’s Network Ireland Cork
branch awards. The applications were superb. Congratulations to all the fantastic winners. It
was so hard to pick, they are all exceptional ladies. Every one of them is a winner.”
Dr Niall O’Keeffe, head of Enterprise at LEO Cork City said: “The Cork City Local Enterprise
Office is delighted to be associated with Network Cork and the very positive work it carries
out in supporting the personal and professional development of its members. On a personal
level, I was honoured to be a judge and to have the opportunity to read so many high-quality
submissions. The resilience and vision demonstrated in the submissions was inspirational.”
Network Cork Awards Co-Ordinator Ingrid Seim said: It has been a pleasure to see the
acknowledgements and support and accolades all of all finalists have been receiving over
the past few weeks. I would like to congratulate all of the winners but also pay tribute to all of
the finalists – the calibre of submissions we had this year showcases the depth and breadth
of talent that exists amongst businesswomen in Cork. We are delighted we could celebrate
their achievements in person at our awards.”
Dan and Linda Kiely Pictured at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2022 at Fota Island Resort’
Photography By Gerard McCarthy
Zuzana Brosnan and Aoife Behan- The Montenotte Hotel Pictured at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2022 at Fota Island Resort’
Photography By Gerard McCarthy
Susana Marambio- Beacon Business Commercial Services, Izabela Sikora – Funky cakes by architect and Sinead O’Flynn -Health 4 UPictured at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2022 at Fota Island Resort’
Photography By Gerard McCarthy
Anita Siegal -Happy Feet Reflexology Cork and Michelle Dinneen- Ardin Career Development Pictured at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2022 at Fota Island Resort’
Photography By Gerard McCarthy
Paula Scopatta- Eli Lilly, Coco- M5 Sound Studio and Marilyn Reidy- Starcircle Pictured at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2022 at Fota Island Resort’
Photography By Gerard McCarthy
Brian and Sinead O’Flynn – Health 4 U Pictured at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2022 at Fota Island Resort’
Photography By Gerard McCarthy
Eadaoin Carrick-Cantec Group, Ingrid Seim-Avenues Consultancy, Marguerite O’Sullivan- Depuy Synthes and Aisling O’Neill- Arclabs SETU Pictured at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2022 at Fota Island Resort’
Photography By Gerard McCarthy
Award Winner Noelle Carroll- Pinnaklo, pictured at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2022 at Fota Island Resort
Photography By Gerard McCarthy
Tanya Mansfield and Rachel O’Malley -Hayfield Manor Pictured at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2022 at Fota Island Resort’
Photography By Gerard McCarthy
Award Winner Sinead O’Flynn – Health 4 U , pictured at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2022 at Fota Island Resort
Photography By Gerard McCarthy
