The Southern Star, together with our partner Carbery, is delighted to announce that the West Cork Business & Tourism Awards are back for 2025.
The Southern Star, together with our awards partner Carbery, is delighted to announce that the West Cork Business & Tourism Awards for 2025 are open!
Our 2024 awards were a great success with one of the highest level of entries since we launched the awards in 2018.
The West Cork Business & Tourism Awards recognise the amazing work and contribution that businesses make to our region, be it a new business starting off their journey or an established business.
We also champion businesses that have shown support for their local community, have devised a clever marketing initiative, provide outstanding customer service or attract tourists and visitors.
The variety of categories allows businesses of all sizes and sectors to get involved - from sole traders to entrepreneurs to SMEs, there is a category for everyone.
The awards are a fantastic way to attract publicity to your business, to raise its profile and to acknowledge the great work that business owners and their teams of talented people deliver every day.
With nine categories plus three special awards, we’re calling on businesses across West Cork to enter the West Cork Business & Tourism Awards 2025 at westcorkbusinessandtourismawards.ie
Good luck to all!
The benefits of entering the awards
There are many benefits to entering the West Cork Business and Tourism Awards.
• You have an opportunity to raise your company’s profile to a local, national and even international audience through our digital platforms.
• The awards are FREE to enter.
• If shortlisted, the awards provide free marketing and PR opportunities for your business.
• Entering can be a great team-building exercise to recognise and celebrate the hard work of employees.
• All shortlisted businesses will receive a profile article and photograph in a special West Cork Business & Tourism Awards supplement to be published in The Southern Star and online at southernstar.ie ahead of the gala awards lunch.
• All awards category winners and finalists will receive publicity via The Southern Star newspaper and digital media, a framed certificate and trophy and a special logo that can be used on marketing materials.
• All shortlisted businesses have great networking opportunities at our Pitch Night & Gala Lunch Awards event.
The awards categories
1. West Cork’s Best Customer Service
Sponsored by ODM Financial Advisers
Ireland is renowned for its ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’ - ‘one hundred thousand welcomes’. Businesses pride themselves on reviews and testimonials of a job well done. We are on the search for West Cork’s best customer service. If your business delights its customers time after time and offers the best welcome and best service then we want to hear from you. Use examples of when your business has delivered exceptional customer service. Include details of awards, ratings, media coverage, reviews or testimonials you have received.
2. Best New Business (In business for 3 years or less)
Sponsored by Collins Brooks & Associates
Starting a business can be exciting and challenging. This award acknowledges new businesses and entrepreneurs that have shown potential to create employment and maximise opportunities in their sector. We want to hear from business owners who have established a new business of any size, in the last three years.
3. Best Small Business (Less than 20 employees)
Sponsored by Local Enterprise Office Cork North and West
This category is open to any business with less than 20 employees, including solo-preneurs. This business can operate from a home office or trade from a business premises. The business set up can be a sole trader, partnership or limited company and can operate in any sector. We’re looking for examples of how the business has developed, evolved and gone from strength to strength in recent years.
4. Best use of Sustainability in a Business
Sponsored by Lilly Ireland
This award recognises businesses in West Cork that are making a real effort to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. This could include reducing waste, saving energy, using local or eco-friendly products, cutting down on plastic, or supporting the local community in a meaningful way. We’re looking for practical steps you’ve taken to run your business in a more responsible and sustainable way. Tell us what changes you made, why you made them, and how they’ve made a difference.
5. West Cork Young Businessperson of the Year (Aged 35 or under)
Sponsored by Access Credit Union
Young entrepreneurs are a key part of Ireland’s future. This category supports and champions West Cork’s young, dynamic and creative business men and women. If you are a business owner or business operator/manager under the age of 35 and your business has been in operation for a minimum of one year this is your opportunity to showcase your business skills.
6. Best Family-Run Business
Sponsored by Cork County Council
We’re looking for West Cork’s best family-run businesses, in particular those that have been passed down and operated by different generations of the family over the years and/or those that are run today by different generations. All family businesses, small, medium or large, have a story and history behind them and we’d love to hear about yours and why you are successful.
7. Best use of Digital
Sponsored by Masterkabin
This category celebrates businesses, organisations, or individuals in West Cork who are using digital platforms and tools in smart, creative, or impactful ways. Whether it's through your use of social media, websites, online shops, digital marketing, podcasts, mobile apps or innovative use of technology to connect with customers and visitors - this award recognises digital excellence that drives results. We're looking for entries that show how your use of digital has helped grow your business, improve the visitor experience, reach new audiences, or adapt to change. Tell us what you did, why you did it, and what difference it made.
8. Best Tourism Experience
Sponsored by Cork Airport
West Cork is renowned for the experience we offer to tourists and locals alike. With its stunning scenery, skilled craftspeople and talented food producers, visitors are spoilt for choice. Tourism experiences showcase what West Cork has to offer and we are looking for the ‘best in the West!’ If you operate a tourism business that offers a superb tourism experience in West Cork, this category is for you.
9. Best West Cork Festival
Sponsored by O’Sullivan Marine
We’d love to hear from the many unique and vibrant festivals that help make West Cork such a special place all year round. Whether your festival is big or small, long-running or newly started, this category is for those who bring people together to celebrate music, food, arts, culture, community or anything else that makes West Cork shine.
Special awards
10. West Cork Wild Atlantic Way Tourism
Business of the Year
The special Fáilte Ireland Award for the ‘West Cork Wild Atlantic Way Tourism Business of the Year’, will be awarded by the judges to a tourism business they feel specifically brings the Wild Atlantic Way regional experience brand to life. The winning tourism business will offer an authentic experience and continually innovate their tourism offering in a sustainable way to attract more visitors to West Cork throughout the year.
11. West Cork Business Ambassador & Lifetime Achievement award
The award for West Cork Business Ambassador is awarded to an individual who the judges feel has made a significant and extraordinary contribution to business life in West Cork.
Previous winners include:
• Sean O'Driscoll, Ex President & CEO of Glen Dimplex
• Eugene Scally, Scally’s Supervalu & Clonakilty Park Hotel
• Brigitte Wagner Halswick, Rowa Pharmaceuticals, Bantry
• John Field, Field's SuperValu, Skibbereen
• Colette Twomey, Clonakilty Food Co.
12.Overall West Cork Business of the Year 2025
The judges will choose an overall winning business from the nine category winners that have demonstrated excellence, innovation, and a commitment to the local community. The recipient of the Best Overall West Cork Business of the Year award will be announced and honoured during the prestigious awards lunch ceremony.
Previous winners include:
• Carbery Plastics, Clonakilty
• Fernhill House Hotel, Clonakilty
• Rowa Pharmaceuticals, Bantry
• Global Shares, Clonakilty
• Keohane Seafoods, Bantry
The judging panel
Full details on how to enter the West Cork Business & Tourism Awards at: westcorkbusinessandtourismawards.ie
The Awards Process
Stage 1
Entries
Enter online at www.westcorkbusinessandtourismawards.ie
Entries close midnight Friday 10th October
Stage 2
Shortlist of Finalists
The judges will review all submissions and a shortlist of three finalists per category will be agreed.
November 2025
Stage 3
Pitch Night
Finalists are then invited to a pitch night in December, sponsored by Local Enterprise Office Cork North and West in the Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen. This is your opportunity to showcase your business via a three minute pitch. From this, the judges will decide the ultimate winners for each category.
Stage 4
Special supplement
Following the pitch night, The Southern Star will publish a special supplement within the newspaper and online at southernstar.ie that profiles each of the category finalists’ businesses.
January 2026
Stage 5
The West Cork Business & Tourism Awards gala luncheon
Each finalist will receive two complimentary tickets to the West Cork Gala Awards luncheon, which will be held in early February (venue tbc) where the winners of each category will be announced.
Jonathan Healy, broadcaster and media personality (Newstalk, Sky, RTÉ) confirmed as MC for our 2026 awards lunch event.
For any queries please contact us:
Southern Star Customer Service on 028 21200 or send an email to [email protected]
Message from Carbery
The team at Carbery are really proud to be on board again as headline sponsor for the Southern Star West Cork Business and Tourism Awards.
On behalf of Carbery I want to express our congratulations to the team at the Southern Star for running a great initiative, and a special thanks to all of the organisations who submitted entries last year.
The calibre of business and entrepreneurship in West Cork, highlighted by these awards, is inspiring to see. We look forward to meeting more local businesses this year, and to playing our part in supporting the local business ecosystem which is so essential to the fabric of West Cork and rural Ireland.
Jason Hawkins,
Chief Executive,
Carbery
Thank you to our awards sponsors
