Business women throughout the county were recognised for their achievements at the inaugural Network Ireland Kerry branch awards.
The event took place in The Rose Hotel in Tralee on Friday and showcased thirty finalists across seven categories.
Among the winners was Helen O’Sullivan Murphy, MD of O’ Sullivan’s Bakery, who won the established businesswoman category, while Kerry McCarthy Brady, CEO of Hercules Building Systems, won emerging businesswoman category.
The President’s Award was given to Joan Walsh of Branch Liason and the 2026; this award honours an outstanding leader who embodies the core values of Network Ireland.
The winners will now go on to the national Network Ireland awards.
The winners of each category were:
Established Businesswomen Category:
Helen O’Sullivan Murphy, MD of O’Sullivan’s Bakery
Employee Shining Star category:
Highly Commended: Katherine O’Sullivan, Lecturer on the REEdI Project at the Department of STEM, MTU
One to watch: Sarah Flaherty - member of the senior management team at MTU
Winner Employee Shining Star: Denise Healy, Centre Director, Castel Education
Solo Businesswoman Category
Edel Lawlor, Founder of Expressive Play
Creative Professional Category
One to Watch: Anita Michalak, founder the Digital Talk
Winner Creative Professional: Brigeen O’ Sullivan – Managing Partner Match Marketing
STEM Professional Category
Dr Fiona Boyle, Head of Department- STEM (Director of REEdI at MTU)
Emerging Businesswoman Category
Kerry Mc Carthy Brady, CEO, Hercules Building Systems
Networker of the Year Category
One to Watch: Aisling Foley, Sales & Marketing Manager, The Rose Hotel, Tralee
Winner: Jacqueline Gavaghan, Lecturer in Management/Strategy, MTU
The President’s Award: Joan Walsh, Branch Liason and the 2026
Network Ireland Kerry hosted their inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee. Helen O’Sullivan Murphy, MD of O’Sullivan’s Bakery, was named the Established Businesswomen Category Winner. Pictured were: President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan, Trish Lewis of ‘Trisha’s Transformation’, Helen O’Sullivan Murphy and Antoinette Glavin (Glavin & Wiseman Chartered Accountants). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Network Ireland Kerry hosted their inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee. Katherine O’Sullivan, Lecturer on the REEdI Project at the Department of STEM, MTU was Highly Commended in the Employee Shining Star category. Pictured were: President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan, Trish Lewis of ‘Trisha’s Transformation’, Katherine O’Sullivan and Colleen Shannon (AIB). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Network Ireland Kerry hosted their inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee. Sarah Flaherty, a member of the senior management team at MTU, was named ‘One to Watch’ in the Employee Shining Star category. Pictured were: President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan, Trish Lewis of ‘Trisha’s Transformation’, Sarah Flaherty and Colleen Shannon (AIB). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Network Ireland Kerry hosted their inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee. Denise Healy, Centre Director, Castel Education was named the Branch Winner in the Employee Shining Star category. Pictured were: President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan, Trish Lewis of ‘Trisha’s Transformation’, Denise Healy and Colleen Shannon (AIB). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Network Ireland Kerry hosted their inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee. Edel Lawlor, Founder of Expressive Play was named Winner of the Solo Businesswoman Category. Pictured were: President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan, Trish Lewis of ‘Trisha’s Transformation’, Edel Lawlor and Brid McElliott (MTU). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Anita Michalak, founder the Digital Talk, was named One to Watch in the Creative Professional Category at the Network Ireland Kerry inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee. The award was collected by Eimear Mc Donnell (third right) from Match Marketing in her absence. Also pictured were: President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan, Trish Lewis of ‘Trisha’s Transformation’ and Jessica O’Connor. Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Brigeen O’Sullivan (third right), Managing Partner at Match Marketing, was named the Winner in the Creative Professional category at the Network Ireland Kerry inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee. Also pictured were: President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan, Trish Lewis of ‘Trisha’s Transformation’ and Jessica O’Connor. Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Winner of the STEM Professional Category at the Network Ireland Kerry inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee, was Dr Fiona Boyle (third right), Head of Department - STEM (Director of REEdI at MTU). Also pictured were: President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan, Trish Lewis of ‘Trisha’s Transformation’ and Stephen Buttimer, Head of Business Payments and FX for Fexco. Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Joan Walsh (Partnership International), the esteemed Branch Liaison and the 2026 Network Ireland National President, was given the The President’s Award for her trojan work and leadership, support, and collaboration. Joan is pictured with President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan, Trish Lewis of ‘Trisha’s Transformation and the Network Ireland Kerry committee. Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Aisling Foley, Sales & Marketing Manager, The Rose Hotel, Tralee was named One to Watch in the Networker of the Year Category at the Network Ireland Kerry inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee. Pictured were: President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan, Aisling Foley, Trish Lewis of ‘Trisha’s Transformation’ and Amy O’Sullivan (Vice President Network Ireland). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Winner of the Networker of the Year Category was Jacqueline Gavaghan, Lecturer in Management/Strategy, MTU at the Network Ireland Kerry inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee. Jacqueline (third left) is pictured with Linda O’Mahony Logan, Trish Lewis of ‘Trisha’s Transformation’, Amy O’Sullivan (Vice President Network Ireland) and Emily Reen (MTU). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Network Ireland Kerry hosted their inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee. Katherine O’Sullivan (left), Lecturer on the REEdI Project at the Department of STEM, MTU was Highly Commended in the Employee Shining Star category, Dr Fiona Boyle (centre) Head of Department - STEM (Director of REEdI at MTU), was named winner of the STEM Professional Category, and winner of the Networker of the Year Category was Jacqueline Gavaghan (right), Lecturer in Management/Strategy. Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Winners of the Network Ireland Kerry inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee from left were: Denise Healy (Castel Education), Jacqueline Gavaghan (MTU), Kerry McCarthy Brady (Hercules Building Systems), Edel Lawlor (Expressive Play), Helen O’Sullivan Murphy (O’Sullivan’s Bakery), Dr Fiona Boyle (MTU) and Brigeen O’Sullivan (Match Marketing), pictured with President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan (fourth left). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
Denise Healy, Centre Director, Castel Education (third from right), pictured with her husband Aidan O’Mahony and President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan and family was named the Winner in the Employee Shining Star category at the Network Ireland Kerry inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee. Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
President of Network Ireland Kerry, Linda O’Mahony Logan, Trish Lewis of ‘Trisha’s Transformation’, Stephen Stack (President of Tralee Chamber), Kerry McCarthy Brady, CEO, Hercules Building Systems (Winner of the Emerging Businesswoman Category) pictured with John McCarthy and Emily Reen at the Network Ireland Kerry inaugural Businesswomen of the Year Awards on Friday night in The Rose Hotel, Tralee. Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography
