For Immediate Release
Dublin, Ireland, September 24, 2024 – The highly anticipated Lincoln Recruitment Irish Early Career Awards 2024 took place on Tuesday, September 24th, at the stunning Royal Irish Academy of Music. Over 200 guests were in attendance from over 50 different companies across Ireland. The evening, which celebrated Ireland’s most outstanding early-career professionals, brought together shortlistees, sponsors, judges, and special guests for a night of recognition and celebration.
Donal Whelan, Managing Director of Lincoln Recruitment, opened the event by emphasising the importance of community in career development. “These awards are about much more than individual accolades; they are about fostering a community where learnings can be shared, relationships forged, and inspiration provided for the next generation,” Whelan said.
The night’s MC, renowned comedian Neil Delamere, kept the audience entertained with his sharp wit. Bernadatte Nuly, VP of Financial Services at IDA Ireland spoke about the importance of Ireland as an international centre of excellence. Ciara Lambe, Director of Operations at Irish Funds and Chairwoman of the Judging Panel, also spoke, praising the talent of the finalists: “The talent we encountered across all categories was truly exceptional. Each of you has demonstrated remarkable passion, leadership, and commitment to inclusivity.”
The 2024 Award Winners:
HR & Recruitment Professional of the Year:
Winner: Edward Leonard, Bank of Ireland
Accountant of the Year:
Winner: Aoife Glancy, Primeline
Financial Services Professional of the Year:
Winner: Niamh Corcoran, Waystone
Technologist & Data Scientist of the Year:
Winner: Mary Gorman, MongoDB
Business Support Professional of the Year:
Joint Winners: Roberto Fernandez, Primeline & Walid Noureldin, IRLCA
Best Project Management, Advisory & Consultancy Professional:
Winner: Aoife Kelly, TikTok
Compliance & Risk Professional of the Year:
Winner: Shauna Kealy, Capitalflow
Engineering & Construction Professional of the Year:
Winner: Cian Swaine, Instrotec
Fintech Professional of the Year:
Ken McCarthy, Emere
Legal and/or ESG Professional of the Year:
Laura Costello, Thinkhouse
Life Science Professional of the Year:
Daniel Quinlan, IRLCA
Entrepreneur of the Year:
Rachel Bothwell, GP Practice Ally
Best Graduate Programme:
Joint Winners: Lidl & Irish Rail
Rising Stars of 2024:
The following “Rising Stars” were identified by the judges as key professionals to watch out for in their developing careers:
- HR & Recruitment: Emma Duggan – Bank of Ireland
- Financial Services: Aaron McAdams – Darta
- Technology & Data Science: Ka Lung Ng – MongoDB
- Business Support: Niamh Coyle – Instrotec, David Clarke – Primeline, Yangyang Wang – Tuath Housing and Kamil Goworek – Bank of Ireland
- Accountancy: Anoushka Gomes – Bank of Ireland
- Life Science: Gavin Jackson – SCRI-IS Technologies Ltd.
- Compliance & Risk: Mia Kenny – Scotiabank
- Engineering & Construction: Nicole Treanor – Bus Eireann
- Legal and/or ESG: Jennifer Wyse – Darta
- Fintech: Eimear Farrell – CalQRisk, Michelle Kehoe – Fund Recs and Hayley McGuire – Corlytics
- Best Graduate Programme: PTSB
The evening showcased the exceptional talent driving Ireland’s professional landscape forward. Shauna Kealy of Capitalflow was named the Overall Winner of the night. Compliance & Risk category judge, Karen Smith, Senior Compliance Manager at Darta Saving Life Assurance found Shauna to be “an extremely focused, professional and driven compliance individual. She acquired an admirable range of compliance experience in a short period of time.” Karen added that “Shauna appeared to be very eager to take on more responsibility, stretch her knowledge and upskill in new areas whilst also enjoying helping others to excel and achieve their own goals. She also demonstrated that she can maintain a calm and composed manner under tense situations, using her initiative and adapting well to change.”
For further information and high-resolution images from the event, please contact Gail Finegan at gfinegan@lincoln.ie.
