Galway’s Irish Socksciety was named as the winner of the Guaranteed Irish Gift Champion category at a gala event to mark the 50th anniversary of the Guaranteed Irish brand.
Winners were announced at a gala dinner in the RDS where 400 people enjoyed celebrating their achievements over the past year. Hosted by Irish satirist and impressionist Oliver Callan, a surprise Riverdance act led to the celebratory mood as guests networked with the best of business in Ireland, both indigenous and multinational, across various sectors.
Created by best friends Alex and Joanna, Irish Socksciety is a quirky, contemporary sock range inspired by Irish humour. The company, which has been in operation for five years also collaborate with national and multinational brands, creating bespoke design socks that are sold internationally.
Guaranteed Irish Special Recognition Award for 2024 went to Galway-native and resident Dr. Maire Geoghegan-Quinn. Dr. Geoghegan-Quinn chaired an independent panel of experts in a national review addressing systemic gender inequality in higher education resulting in a published report in 2016.
An independent panel of distinguished industry leaders from names including An Post, Aer Rianta, FBD Insurance, and IDA Ireland amongst others, had the tough task of shortlisting a total of 174 finalists after whittling down hundreds of entries. The categories this year included Beauty & Fashion; Construction, Engineering & Manufacturing; Craft, Home & Gifting; E-Commerce; Food & Beverage; Pharmaceutical, Healthcare & MedTech; Professional Services; Retail, Tourism & Hospitality; and Technology.
Brid O’Connell, CEO, Guaranteed Irish, said: “What a start to the year we have had, we have launched a Guaranteed Irish stamp and a new advertising campaign “The Guarantee of Guaranteed Irish”, and we close out Q1 with this Gala event to celebrate with our members and to acknowledge 50 years of Guaranteed Irish. I wish to acknowledge our Judges, who had a difficult decision this year as the number, and calibre of entries were exceptionally high.
“The event was sold out weeks in advance, so we hope all who were able to attend had a night to remember. Congratulations to all our winners - we have been overwhelmed with the reception to and interest in the awards this year, we are delighted to have sold out a large venue such as the RDS. It is fantastic to be able to celebrate Ireland’s leading businesses who continue to support Irish jobs, community and provenance.”
Patrick Farrell, Director of Retail Banking, PTSB, said: “As an Irish business ourselves, PTSB is honoured to partner with Guaranteed Irish in recognising the determination, innovation and contribution of so many wonderful, locally based businesses across the country. We were delighted to sponsor the 50th anniversary awards ceremony and celebrate the hard work, focus and creativity that has been shown by so many over the last year and I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to each of the winners and nominees across all categories.”
