EY Ireland has unveiled a shortlist of finalists for the 2026 edition of its Entrepreneur of the Year awards, with 31 Irish entrepreneurs representing 24 companies in the programme.
Drawn from businesses across the island, the entrepreneurs collectively employ some 3,000 people and generate a combined revenue of almost €1 billion, EY said.
The finalists will take part in the Big Four firm’s nine-month-long programme, culminating with an awards ceremony in late November.
A winner will be selected in each of the three categories – emerging, established and international – with the overall winner selected from among the three category winners.
Edward McCloskey, the founder of Louth-based WaterWipes, won the overall and international category prizes last year and will vie for the title of EY Global Entrepreneur of the Year at a world awards ceremony later this year.
Other winners on the night included the Smooth Company’s Áine Kennedy in the emerging category, and Grid Finance chief executive Derek Foley in the established category.
“Entrepreneurship in 2026 looks very different to even a few years ago. We are operating in a world shaped by geopolitical instability, rapid advances in AI and a level of economic uncertainty that demands creativity as much as resilience,” said Roger Wallace, head of assurance and EY Entrepreneur of the Year.
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This year, the finalists in the emerging category are: Aoife Matthews, Jennifer O’Connell and Louise O’Riordan of Sisterly; Bobby Healy of Manna Air Delivery; Brian Shields of Neurent Medical; Danny Buckley of ADHDNow; Dr Harriet Tracey of Beyondbmi; Jennifer Rock of Skingredients Ltd; Laura McCarthy of Drink Botanicals Ireland; and Liam Kearney of The Revive Group.
Competing in the established category are: Tommy Kearns of Xtremepush; John Corley of Spanish Point Technologies; John Lunn of Lunn’s; Karl Zimmerer of Glanua; Oltian Dervishi of Forte Pespa; Paul Vallely and Clare Walsh of Kukoon; Robin Jones of Golden Bake; and Trevor Casey of EPH Controls.
The international finalists are: Brian Moloney of StormHarvester; Chris Horgan of Dexgreen; David Brennan of Eastgate Engineering; Dermot O’Shea of Taoglas; Ian Morgan and Sanjay Abraham of XPress Healthcare Ltd; Maire Claire Reid of TST Group; Paul, Gary and Mike Martin of Martin Group; and Ronan and Conor Burke of Inscribe.
The finalists were selected by a judging panel of previous winners, chaired by Portwest chief executive Harry Hughes.
“This year’s judging process reminded us just how rapidly the world is changing for entrepreneurs and the environment they are operating in, which has changed even in the past 18 months alone,” Hughes said.
As part of the programme, the finalists will take part in a weeklong chief executive’s retreat, which is being held in Toronto, Canada, in May.