A fantastic evening yesterday at Smock Alley Theatre as Radiocentre Ireland hosted the Irish Audio Awards 2025–26,celebrating the craft and creativity behind some of the best audio advertising in Ireland.
The evening was hosted by Anton Savage, and the audience were treated to an insight into the strange worlds of Darren Conway and Joe McGucken from the hit podcast Stall It. Alex Jenkins from Contagious shared fascinating perspectives on the societal trends shaping creativity and highlighted the opportunities these create for brans.
We also heard from Aifric Lennon , Managing Director of father , who spoke about the powerful role music plays in building emotional connections with listeners, while Ann Marie Shields from BIMM Dublin highlighted the incredible vibrancy of Ireland’s music sector and BIMM’s role in developing the next generation of talent. Martina and the Moons, rising stars at BIMM, treated the audience to fantastic music.
The judges reflected on this year’s entries, noting how humour featured strongly across many campaigns and emphasising the importance of creating ads that people genuinely want to listen to.
Ciarán Cunningham, Radiocentre Ireland CEO introducing the evening said that audio, when done well, is one of the most powerful mediums a brand can use. It reaches millions of people every week, accompanies them throughout their day, and has a unique ability to create emotion, imagination and connection. But like any powerful medium, it delivers its best results when the craft is right — when ideas are given time to develop, scripts are written with care, and production values match the ambition of the concept.
The Grand Prix was won by Forsman & Bodenforsfor Seatbelters for Allianz. The full list of winners is below:
• Grand Prix — Seatbelters by Forsman &Bodenfors for Allianz
• Casting — Garda Recruitment by Core for An GardaSíochána
• Copywriting Craft — Mam's Wisdom by Boys+Girlsfor Jacob's Biscuits
• Audio for Change — Cut Short by Foe / IRS+ /Spark Foundry for Road Safety Authority
• Use of Music — Garda Recruitment by Core for AnGarda Síochána
• Speculative — Checking Out by Róisín O’Mahony
• Sound Design — Prepare to Gasp by Scimitar / Core for KFC
• Innovation — Seatbelters by Forsman & Bodenfors for Allianz
• Consumer — DoneDeal by Circle Content (part ofBoys+Girls) for DoneDeal Cars
