‘Immense pride’ at this year’s South Dublin County Business Awards

SOUTH Dublin Chamber CEO, Peter Byrne, expressed “immense pride” off the back of this year’s South Dublin County Business Awards, which took place at the Maldron Hotel on October 15.

This year’s ceremony, with Marty Whelan on the microphone, celebrated the dedication of local businesses and larger corporations around South Dublin, placing the spotlight on businesses big and small.

From Google and AWS to Peamount Hospital and local tradesmen, the evening brought people from all corners of the business world together to celebrate another year of hard work.

Peter Byrne noticed the excitement that ran through the room on the night as people got the chance to mingle with fellow businesspeople and cheer on those who came away with a trophy at the end of it all.

“On the night, there was a great sense of excitement. I think everybody knew that if you got there, you were getting there because you were a very strong company.

“You had everybody in the room together, and everybody had a really good time. There is none of this: I’m more important than you; we’re all here together.”

Peter went on to highlight the growth he has witnessed in the South Dublin area in terms of the quality of local businesses and the desire to get involved with the South Dublin Chamber to promote their business.

“The quality is getting higher every year because the more people learn about the awards, the more people enter. If they don’t win the first year, they learn what they need to do to become a stronger entry the next year. So, we’ve been blown away by the amount of people who entered and how big the entry field was.”

Although it is great to see big multinational corporations move into South Dublin, Peter emphasised the importance of recognising the smaller businesses, something that is at the heart of the County Business Awards.

The awards ceremony has one set of entries specifically for small companies, such as My Power Ltd, which won Best Small Business on the night and the award for Best Not-for-Profit, which went to Citywise Education.

“Primarily, our awards – even though our sponsors are very big companies – the awards themselves really are geared for very small companies, and it was just fantastic to see so many people come along.”

Peter acknowledged the support of their sponsors, who help to make it a night to remember each year.

“Many of our sponsors have been with us from the start and we are very grateful for their continued support and a warm welcome to our new sponsors great to have you on board.”

Peter was overjoyed with the jubilant atmosphere that continued well into the night, with both winners and nominees celebrating each other’s efforts.

“The one thing I loved is that, even when it all ended, still late into the night, people were still enjoying themselves and having a good night out, and that’s something we lost with COVID; we lost a little bit of that connectivity with each other, and it’s great to see people enjoying each other’s company and having a good night out.

“So, yes, it is a serious thing to give an award, but it’s also great to see people enjoying themselves.

It’s a great competition, it’s a great night out, and it is a great chance to get to know each other’.