Sponsored
Sponsored content is premium paid-for content produced by the Irish Times Content Studio on behalf of commercial clients. The Irish Times newsroom or other editorial departments are not involved in the production of sponsored content.

Event Industry Awards 2017 winners announced

The winners of the ninth annual Event Industry Awards were revealed on Friday, July 14th, at the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road, Dublin

Event Industry Awards 2017 winners
Tue Aug 01 2017 - 17:00

The Clayton Hotel, Dublin was  recently transformed into a red-draped, cabaret-themed theatre for the Business River Event Industry Awards.

Complete with showgirls and jazz orchestra it welcomed 500 leading event industry figures hoping to win one of the 23 trophies up for grabs

Clive Jackson, operations manager at Actavo Events spoke about their involvement in this year's awards. "In sponsoring this event it's very important for Actavo to get our brand out there to the people who matter the most in the industry and those people are in this room tonight. Tonight, has been a great success, this event is our opportunity to say hello, thank you and we'll see you again next year."

Terri Cullinane was the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution Award. Best Event was scooped by Grooveyard Event Management for Riverfest Limerick 2016. "We are genuinely de­lighted. Each Event Industry Award we win means so much to us because they are so sought after, well recognised and highly respected," said James Gavin, CEO at Grooveyard Event Management.

READ MORE

The competition for Best Corporate Entertainer ran throughout the evening providing entertainment for the guests. The different acts included the Drum Club, Hell4Leather, Jon Allen’s Big Quiz, XOD dance group, Paul Kennedy History of Ireland in Three Minutes, and Oisín Dance Company. Each act performed on the night, with guests voting for their favourite. Dance troop, XOD were crowned Best Corporate Entertainers.

Dublin Institute of Technology took home the award for Excellence in Education and Training. Speaking about their win on the night, Rachael O'Brien of DIT said, "winning an award at the Event Industry Awards really is recognition of being the best of the best in your industry. It showcases companies that are creative and innovative from all over Ireland. No matter how small your company or idea is we would definitely recommend putting together an application for the awards".

The Event Industry People’s Awards also took place during the ceremony, in conjunction with the main event. These awards are designed to celebrate those people behind the scenes who make each event successful. The winners were announced the week before the awards, over social media, and those in attendance on the night received their trophy. The nomination process took place weeks before the event where people within the industry were nominated by their colleagues within the categories online. If they got enough votes they made the shortlist and then the top three individuals from the shortlist were voted for on social media and the winners were announced.

The Event Industry Awards will return in 2018 with an expanded format and judging panel. The awards were devised and organised by BusinessRiver and produced by Event Strategies.

For more information, visit eia.ie

The Event Industry Awards 2017 winners

1. Best Event / Sponsored by the Clayton Hotel

Winner: Riverfest Limerick 2016

Liam Colvin, Manager, Codex presents the Excellence in Education & Training award to Dr. Dominic Dillane, School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, DIT

2. Outstanding Contribution to the Events Industry / Sponsored by DIT

Winner: Terri Cullinane

Liam Colvin, Manager, Codex presents the Technology Award to Niall O'Connor, SonorPlex.

3. Best Event Management Company / Sponsored by Actavo

Winner: Cogs & Marvel

Maeve Buckley, Director Line Up - Sports Media Entertainment presents the Best Event Innovation award to Ronan O'Kelly & Ciara O‘Malley The Half Right.

4. Best Professional Conference Organiser / Sponsored by The Conference and Event Venue

Winner: Abbey Conference & Events

Maeve Buckley, Director Line Up - Sports Media Entertainment presents the Best Event Cater award to Aviva Stadium Team.

5. Best Corporate Entertainer / Sponsored by the Clayton Hotel

Winner: XOD

Declan Maxwell, Restaurant Manager, Luna Restaurant presents the Best Event Infrastructure Provider award to Gràinne Walker, Magnum Events.

6. Best Event Sponsorship

Winner: Vantastival Sponsored by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Ireland

Dagan Fleming, Sales Manager, Stage & Lighting presents the Best Hotel Event Venue award to, Clontarf Castle Hotel Team.

7. Best Live Event / Sponsored by The Helix

Winner: Riverfest Limerick 2016

Declan Maxwell, Restaurant Manager, Luna Restaurant presents the Best Purpose Build Event Venue award to Sinead Heneghan, Croke Park Meetings & Events

8. Best Sporting Event

Winner: The Aer Lingus College Football Classic 2016

Lorna Murphy, General Manager, Lolliprops presents the Best Event Design award to Jan Leonard & Dominika Zemberyova, The Conference and Events Venue at the Mansion House.

9. Best Conference / Sponsored by AVC

Winner: World Buiatrics Congress Dublin 2016

Sean Reid, Commercial Director, Citywest Hotel presents the Best Event Team award to Jane Gallagher, Cogs & Marvel.

10. Best Awards Ceremony / Sponsored by AVC

Winner: The AIB Build A Bank Challenge Final

Dagan Fleming, Sales Manager, Stage & Lighting presents the Best In-House Event Team award to, Croke Park Meetings & Events Team.

11. Best Corporate Event / Sponsored by Audio Networks

Winner: DoubleClick Leadership Summit 2016

Brian C. O'Reilly, Managing Director, MCE Events presents the Best Exhibition award to Lucy Ryan & Brian Ingarfield, IN SIGHT.

12. Best Launch Event / Sponsored by MCE Events

Winner: Sony Xperia Product Launch

Brian C. O'Reilly, Managing Director, MCE Events presents the Best Launch Event award to James Gavin, Grooveyard Event Management Company.

13. Best Exhibition

Winner: The IN SIGHT Exhibition

Daniela Liebing, Social Media Executive, Audio Networks presents the Best Corporate Event award to Jane Gallagher & Aoife Kane, Cogs & Marvel.

14. Best In-House Event Team / Sponsored by Stage and Lighting

Winner: Croke Park Meetings & Events

Mary Weir, Co-Founder, Event Industry Association of Ireland presents the Best Awards Ceremony award to Real Nation Team.

15. Best Event Team / Sponsored by CityWest Hotel

Winner: Cogs & Marvel

Mary Weir, Co-Founder, Event Industry Association of Ireland presents the Best Conference award to MCI Dublin Team.

16. Best Event Design / Sponsored by Lolliprops

Winner: Taxand International Gala Dinner - The Conference & Events Venue at The Mansion House

Paul Griffin, Business Development Manager, Actavo Events presents the Best Sporting Event award to Padraic O’Kane, Irish American Events.

17. Best Purpose Built Event Venue

Winner: Croke Park Meetings & Events

Elaine White, Conference & Events Manager, The Helix presents the Best Live Event award to Keelan Lynch, Grooveyard Event Management Company.

18. Best Hotel Event Venue

Winner: Clontarf Castle Hotel

Aimée Brennan, Marketing and Events Executive, Number Twenty- Two presents the Best Event Sponsorship award to Kim Kilduff & Alan Bateson, Vantastival Sponsored by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

19. Best Event Infrastructure Provider

Winner: Magnum Events

Daniel Saunders, Deputy General Manager, The Clayton Hotel presents the Best Corporate Entertainer award to XOD Team.

20. Best Event Caterer

Winner: Compass Group Ireland at Aviva Stadium

Cara MacManamon, Director of Sales & Events, The Conference and Events Venue at the Mansion House presents the Best Professional Conference Organiser award to Anja Fischer & Louisa Frabderich, Abbey Conference & Events.

21. Best Event Innovation

Winner: Wild Air Run - The Right Half

Clive Jackson, Operations Director, Actavo Events presents the Best Event Management Company award to Jane Gallagher, Cogs & Marvel.

22. Technology Award

Winner: SonorPlex

Dr. Denise O'Leary, Assistant Head of School, School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, DIT presents the Outstanding Contribution to the Events Industry award to Terri Cullinane.

23. Excellence in Education & Training / Sponsored by Codex

Winner: B.Sc. Event Management - School of Hospitality Management & Tourism, DIT

Daniel Saunders, Deputy General Manager, The Clayton Hotel, presents the Best Event award to James Gavin, Grooveyard Event Management