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The 2026 TravelMedia.ie Travel Awards were held at the Clayton Burlington Hotel in Dublin 4 on Monday, 9 February, recognising excellence across Irish travel journalism and content creation. Broadcasters, writers, photographers and creators were honoured across ten categories, with Visit Portugal among the event supporters.
Winners at a glance
The ceremony celebrated a mix of established names and emerging voices. Winners across the ten categories were:
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- Best Portuguese Travel Story: Deirdre Mullins and Fergal O’Keefe
- Rising Star: Aoibh Carroll
- A Pleasure to Work With (Trade): Fran Lambert
- A Pleasure to Work With (Media): Kevin Gleeson
- Photographer of the Year: Conor MacNeill
- Videographer of the Year: Tony Smith
- Travel Content Creator of the Year: Dev Skehan
- TV Broadcaster of the Year: Bob O’Brien
- Radio Broadcaster of the Year: Joan Scales
- Travel Writer of the Year: Mimi Murray
Presentation and sponsors
Visit Portugal supported the awards ceremony, and its Director for Ireland, Carlos Oliveira, presented trophies to the winners. The organisers highlighted the event as a showcase for work that promotes destinations and travel storytelling to Irish audiences.
Notable highlights
Deirdre Mullins took the prize for Best Portuguese Travel Story for a piece on Madeira, an entry that complemented an episode of Fergal O’Keefe’s podcast, Travel Tales with Fergal. Mullins was also recently recognised at the Travel Extra Awards, where she won Best Digital Media for her article “Finding the beat of Berlin, from Berghain to Hackescher Markt.”
Bob O’Brien, the series producer behind RTÉ’s High Road, Low Road, was named TV Broadcaster of the Year. The series is available on RTÉ Player.
Why it matters
These awards cast a spotlight on the people shaping how Irish audiences learn about travel and destinations. From photographers to podcasters, the winners represent the variety of formats that now influence where and how people choose to travel.
