Twenty-four categories across four sections. Every category asks the same four things in different words: the context, what you did, what changed, and what comes next. Read the description, check the eligibility line, and if you're unsure which category fits, email events@fingalchamber.ie before you start writing.
You can enter up to four categories, with one entry per category. The judges may move an entry to a category they think fits better.
Talent Section
Three awards for people rather than organisations. Nominate yourself or someone else.
Business Person of the Year
Proudly sponsored by Dublin Airport.
This is the Chamber's highest individual honour, for a leader whose judgement and drive have made a lasting mark on business in Fingal.
Judges look for: Results the entrant personally drove, the qualities behind them, and what they've given back to the wider Fingal business community through mentoring, networks or local employment.
Who can enter: Nominees must have held their current role for at least two years.
Young Business Person of the Year
Proudly sponsored by Enterprise Ireland's New Frontiers Programme at TU Dublin.
This award recognises an entrepreneur or business leader aged 35 or under who is already shaping Fingal's business future.
Judges look for: What the entrant has built or achieved, the setbacks they've faced and what they learned from them, and the ambition behind what comes next.
Who can enter: Aged 35 or under at the entry deadline.
Team of the Year
Proudly sponsored by Malone Group.
This award celebrates a team whose collaboration delivered something the organisation could not have done otherwise.
Judges look for: One specific achievement, how the team worked together to reach it, and the effect on colleagues, customers or the community.
Business Excellence Section
Nine awards for organisations, judged on strategy, execution and results.
Business of the Year (Large)
This award recognises a large business, with more than 50 employees, whose performance and leadership have had a measurable impact on Fingal's economy.
Judges look for: A clear strategic plan, the initiatives that delivered it, results against objectives, and what the business learned.
Who can enter: More than 50 employees, more than two units, or annual turnover above €10 million.
Business of the Year (SME)
Proudly sponsored by Dains.
This award honours a small or medium business that has grown, performed and shown a real commitment to doing things well.
Judges look for: The strategy, the key initiatives of the last two years, results against objectives, and plans for what's next.
Who can enter: 50 or fewer employees and annual turnover of €10 million or less.
Business of the Year (Startup)
Proudly sponsored by Local Enterprise Office Fingal.
This award recognises a new business with a clear strategy, early traction and strong potential.
Judges look for: The idea and the plan behind it, what has been achieved so far, and evidence that the model works.
Who can enter: Trading for three years or less at the entry deadline.
Innovation in Business Award
Proudly sponsored by Skillnet Ireland.
This award celebrates an organisation that changed how it works, or what it offers, in response to a real pressure or opportunity.
Judges look for: What prompted the need to innovate, what you did about it, and the difference it has made.
International Trade Award
Proudly sponsored by Country Crest.
This award recognises a Fingal business that has grown by winning customers outside Ireland.
Judges look for: The market opportunity you identified, your growth objectives, the steps you took to pursue them, and the results.
Sales and Marketing Award
Proudly sponsored by Vhi Healthcare.
This award celebrates a campaign or programme that moved the business forward, with the results to prove it.
Judges look for: How the campaign served the wider business strategy, what you did, and measurable results in sales, customers, engagement or reach.
Learning and Development Award
Proudly sponsored by The Wright Group.
This award recognises an organisation that invests in its people, and can show what that investment returned.
Judges look for: The training need you identified and how you found it, the programme you put in place, and the change in performance, retention or capability.
Not-for-Profit Organisation of the Year
Proudly sponsored by Amazon.
This award honours a not-for-profit whose work makes a measurable difference to the people it serves.
Judges look for: How you understand the needs of the people you serve, the initiatives you've delivered, and the outcomes.
Public Service of the Year
Proudly sponsored by Swords Pavilions.
This award recognises a public body or service that consistently delivers value for the Fingal community.
Judges look for: How you measure and improve the user experience, the initiatives that delivered value, and the results.
Sustainable Business Impact Section
Five awards for organisations making a difference beyond the balance sheet. Each asks why you started, what you did, what changed, and what's next.
Workplace Award
This award honours an employer that has built a culture people want to work in.
Judges look for: Why you started this work, the programmes you put in place, and the effect on retention, engagement or wellbeing.
Community Involvement Award
This award celebrates a business that has gone beyond sponsorship to make a real contribution to its local community.
Judges look for: The need you responded to, what you did, and the impact on the community and on the business.
Climate Action Award
This award recognises an organisation that is reducing its environmental impact, and can prove it.
Judges look for: Your reasons for acting, the initiatives taken, measured results in energy, emissions, waste or water, and what comes next.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
Proudly sponsored by MWeds.
This award celebrates an organisation actively championing diversity, equity and inclusion, in its own workforce and in its wider impact.
Judges look for: What you set out to change, the programmes delivered, and the difference measured in who you hire, who progresses, and how people feel.
Sustainable Impact by an SME Award
Proudly sponsored by City North Hotel.
This award recognises a small or medium business that has embedded responsible practice across its operations, with results to show for it.
Judges look for: The same evidence as the other Sustainable Impact categories, at a scale that fits a smaller business: practical, measurable and sustained.
Who can enter: 50 or fewer employees and annual turnover of €10 million or less.
Customer Experience Section
Seven awards for businesses that serve the public, and the only section assessed in person.
Your written entry shortlists the finalists. Mystery guest researchers then visit every finalist unannounced during October and November, and their report decides the winner. The entry asks how you measure customer experience, how you train for it, and the one thing you do that stands out. The visit tests whether it shows.
A business that is closed, on reduced hours or refurbishing during that window may not be fully evaluated. Tell us at entry if that applies to you.
Hotel Award
Proudly sponsored by Aer Lingus.
This award honours the hotel that delivers the best guest experience, from booking to checkout.
Who can enter: Any hotel in Fingal. A researcher will stay for one night as part of the assessment, and the entrant covers or waives the cost of the stay.
Leisure/Tourism Service Award
Proudly sponsored by Carlton Hotels.
This award celebrates an attraction, activity or experience that shows Fingal at its best to visitors and locals alike.
Restaurant Award
Proudly sponsored by AIB.
This award recognises a restaurant where the food, the service and the room all pull in the same direction.
Bar/Pub Award
This award goes to a bar or pub that gets the welcome, the quality and the atmosphere right, every time.
Café Award
Proudly sponsored by Keelings.
This award celebrates a café that stands out for its coffee, its food, its atmosphere and how it treats its regulars.
Retail Outlet Award
This award recognises a shop that combines the right products with service people come back for.
Professional Service Award
Proudly sponsored by Crowne Plaza Hotels.
This award honours a professional services firm that clients trust, recommend and return to.
Who can enter: Any Fingal business that sells expertise rather than products. That includes legal, accountancy, financial advice, architecture, engineering, advertising, recruitment and consultancy practices, and others like them.