2026 Award Winners 'MEMORABLE MOMENTS' AWARDS 2026

'MEMORABLE MOMENTS' AWARDS 2026

'HAPPY PLACE' AWARD 2026: An Port Mor Westport Co Mayo
Some restaurants make you admire the cooking; the happiest make you want to come back before you have even left. Frankie Mallon’s An Port Mór in Westport has that quality in abundance. Compact, lively and full of personality, it combines serious food with the sense that everyone involved is enjoying what they do. A Euro-Toques chef, Frankie has built a national reputation on creative but resolutely no-nonsense cooking. Mayo lamb, excellent Irish beef and fresh local produce all have their place, but seafood is a particular strength, reflecting Westport’s proximity to Clew Bay. Sauces are accomplished, flavours are generous and dishes have enough polish for a special occasion without ever becoming self-important. The room itself contributes to the pleasure. With just a few dozen seats, service feels personal and the atmosphere quickly becomes convivial. This is a restaurant with loyal local customers as well as visitors who plan Westport trips around a booking.
A Happy Place is not necessarily the grandest or most fashionable room. It is somewhere that lifts the spirits through warmth, flavour and human connection. An Port Mór has been doing that consistently for years. Frankie Mallon and his team richly deserve this affectionate recognition – and, interestingly, the experience is equally happy when the man himself is not present for some reason, and that is a great compliment.

MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR 2026: Renvyle House Hotel & Resort Connemara Co Galway
On the edge of the Atlantic in a remote and hauntingly beautiful part of Connemara, with the Twelve Bens beyond, Renvyle House offers an experience that is inseparable from place. The famous Lutyens-esque house has a romantic and fascinating history, having been home to people as diverse as a Gaelic chieftain and Oliver St. John Gogarty - and it became one of Ireland's earliest country house hotels, in 1883. Since then it has seen many changes and comfortable improvements for today's guests and today, under the warmly efficient direction of General Manager Anne Marie Kelly, it is a wonderful place to visit. And it has a lot of other unique characteristics too, which can often combine to create truly memorable experiences. A simple lunchtime salad of fresh crabmeat in the bar. A waterside morning walk to visit the ducks and the handsome white goose. The sun slipping down over the sea on an evening stroll. Inside, the historic house has the comforting character of a much-loved country retreat: dark beams, open fires, rugs, books and windows framing a landscape that changes by the hour. Outside, the estate gives guests space to walk, play, fish, explore or simply breathe, while the sea and mountains provide ever-changing drama. Encouraging participation without demanding it, Renvyle is a place for families to be active, anyone seeking peace can disappear into corners for a quiet read or a drink, and generations can holiday together without feeling programmed. Renvyle House has created special memories for generations, making it a wonderfully fitting winner.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2026: The Hawthorn by Galway Bay Oranmore Co Galway
One of the most anticipated openings of 2026, The Hawthorn by Galway Bay has brought new interest to a remarkable coastal site just outside Galway city. Developed by the Fitzgerald family and Connacht Hospitality Group, and opened gradually over the summer, this impressive five-star is a reinvention of the former Galway Bay Golf Hotel, which is very recognisable externally - but, once inside, the scale of the transformation is revealed. Stone, timber and bog oak echo the surrounding land and seascape that is the great constant. Sweeping views extend across the links and Galway Bay towards the Burren, with coastal paths, woodland and the Christy O’Connor Jnr championship golf course creating an exceptional sense of space and wonderful views from many rooms- and a destination spa broadens the appeal far beyond golf. Friendly staff are keen to please and the food offering is unusual, with The Skylark restaurant’s open kitchen showcasing cooking over fire and a collection of blue-chip wines, while the adjoining Oystercatcher Bar offers fine views, creative cocktails and Japanese-influenced cuisine through menus originally developed with the acclaimed Cork chef, Takashi Miyazaki. The Hawthorn is still evolving and needs time to settle, but its confidence, setting and breadth of ambition are already clear. The Hawthorn is giving Galway an exciting new destination with a strong identity and enormous potential – a perfect Newcomer of the Year.

GASTRO-PUB OF THE YEAR 2026: Murph's Gastro-Pub @ Derragarra Inn Co
Scenically situated on the Annalee River and conveniently located for a journey break just north of Cavan town Derragarra Inn has long been a popular destination known for its rustic charm. But under chef Fergus Murphy and his wife Susan – who first established Murph’s Bistro in nearby Cootehill before moving the business to this much-loved inn at Butlersbridge - it is a proper country pub offering a genuine welcome, atmosphere and good food. A devastating fire soon after their arrival might have ended the story. Instead, they rebuilt with remarkable speed and sensitivity, preserving the spirit of the old place while creating a warm contemporary restaurant with a characterful bar and an inviting riverside terrace - and, most recently, they have added a smart new cocktail bar. Fergus is a committed supporter of local and Irish produce and he knows his market, so the menus offer plenty of generous crowd-pleasing favourites - steaks, Silver Hill duck and gastropub classics – and prices are very fair. Children and vegetarians are thoughtfully catered for, and local drinks have their place at the bar – but, most importantly, it’s a customer-first place, where staff go the extra mile to ensure that everyone is happy. Convivial, generous and rooted in its community Murph’s is just what’s needed for travellers passing through the county - but also a great destination for diners from a wide area, who will always beat a path here for both casual meals and special events.

TRADITIONAL PUB OF THE YEAR 2026: Blakes of the Hollow Enniskillen Co Fermanagh
A place of pilgrimage for lovers of old Irish pubs, Blakes of the Hollow has been in the same family since 1887, and its famous Victorian front bar remains gloriously intact: dark wood, old fittings, snugs and the unmistakable atmosphere of a place shaped by generations of conversation. That continuity is unique but Blakes has evolved around the edges - most notably with the excellent 28 At The Hollow restaurant elsewhere in the building - yet the essential pub has not been polished into a replica of itself. It remains somewhere to meet, talk and enjoy a pint, with history present but never over-explained. The building has accumulated newer stories too. For example, one of the ten intricately carved Game of Thrones doors, created from timber from The Dark Hedges trees felled by Storm Gertrude in 2016, has become an additional point of interest for visitors. Yet it is the bar itself that is of most interest. Traditional pubs survive through use, not preservation alone, and Blakes continues to serve its community while giving visitors an authentic glimpse of one of Ireland’s great pub interiors. For character, continuity and the priceless quality of being genuinely itself, Blakes of the Hollow is our Traditional Pub of the Year.

IRISH CRAFT DRINKS AWARD 2026: Wicklow Wolf Brewery & Taproom Newtownmountkennedy Co Wicklow
Now deservedly one of the most recognisable names in Ireland’s craft brewing scene for its independence, quality, sustainability policy and tours, the Wicklow Wolf brewery and taproom at Newtownmountkennedy invites beer lovers to experience their work first hand and it’s an opportunity not to be missed. Far from being a generic product, craft brewing involves curiosity - trying new styles, refining familiar ones and giving beer a strong identity - and Wicklow Wolf embraced that spirit from the outset, building a broad range but with experimentation and seasonality an ongoing part of the conversation. The taproom is an important extension of the brewery, bringing production and hospitality together, allowing visitors to taste beers where they are made, talk about them, eat alongside them and see an independent drinks business as part of the local food-and-tourism landscape rather than simply as bottles or cans on a shelf. Irish craft drinks have developed enormously in recent years, and successful producers now need to combine quality, consistency, personality and a meaningful visitor experience. Wicklow Wolf does all four. For its contribution to independent Irish brewing and for creating a welcoming home for its beers in County Wicklow, the Brewery & Taproom is a very worthy Irish Craft Drinks Award winner.

WINE EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR 2026: Prim’s Bookshop & Wine Bar Kinsale Co Cork
Perched on a hill with glimpses down to Kinsale harbour, Simon Prim's secondhand bookshop has been a Kinsale institution since it opened in 2014. It has since evolved into a unique multipurpose space: by day, a cosy coffee bar complete with boardgames and piles of books for browsing; by night a wine bar with moody lighting, vinyl collection and quality sound system; and several times a month, a music venue with a piano and a busy Book'd @ Prims schedule of live gigs. Having fine-tuned his love of wine and sherries while working in neighbouring wine bar and restaurant The Black Pig, Prim's wine list puts an unusual emphasis on sherry, with two pages dedicated to the various styles of Andalucia's fortified wines. It's rare to see such a comprehensive range of sherry styles represented, never mind several expressions of each style from different producers. Clever sherry flights help make it accessible to newbies, while sweet and salty snacks include 'sherrymels' made in Kinsale's own chocolatier, Koko. Another two pages plus seasonal specials cover off red, white, orange, rosé and sparkling wines – all Spanish, and offering a fascinating overview of modern Spanish wines. A wine bar any Irish town would be lucky to have. Prim's is a brilliant complement to Kinsale's dynamic dining scene.