2026 PRII Communication Impact Awards
The PRII Communication Impact Awards will not only celebrate outstanding talent but will also demonstrate the vital role of public relations, internal communication, and public affairs, in Irish society, culture, business, and policymaking. Entries will be open to both PRII members and non-members from Tuesday, 21 April 2026 until Thursday, 4 June 2026 with submissions managed through our special portal on this platform.
This initiative aligns with the PRII five-year Strategy (VISTA), which aims to elevate the recognition of communications' essential role.
Unique in their focus on real-world impact, these Awards will be judged by a distinguished panel of experts including academics, journalists, experts in measurement and evaluation, peer professionals in marketing communications and senior public relations practitioners. The Judges will assess how campaigns have influenced stakeholders, driven engagement, and contributed to organisational or societal objectives, alongside media coverage and brand visibility.
A glamorous awards ceremony will take place on Friday, 18 September 2026 at the Conrad Hotel, Dublin 2.
Key Dates
- Eligibility period: Work completed between 1 April 2025 and 31 May 2026
- Briefing Event 'How To Win a PRII Impact Award!': Wednesday 15 April at 3:30pm, in Huckletree, The Academy, 42 Pearse Street, Dublin, D02 HV59. It is an in-person event but will be recorded and the recordings made available.
- Entries open: Tuesday 21 April
- Entries deadline: Thursday 4 June at noon.
- Shortlists announcement: Tuesday 11 August
- Awards Ceremony: Evening of Friday 18 September in the Conrad Hotel, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin, D02 V562.
- The awards are open to PRII members and non-members, with special rates available for members in charities. All entries will be managed through a special portal on our platform, ensuring a seamless and transparent submission and judging process. As this is a bespoke PRII Awards platform entrants can be assured that the information in their entries remains confidential to, and within, the PRII, and can be accessed only by Judges and, as necessary, PRII staff.
- A campaign can be entered in one or more categories but we strongly recommend it is re-written to suit the categories' differing priorities and objectives.
- Entry Fees:
- PRII Members €200 per entry
- Entrants from Registered Charity (special rate) €175 per entry
- Non-members €300 per entry
PRII Communication Impact Awards Briefing aka "How to Win"
Details of the Communication Impact Awards Briefing and how to register can be found below:
Awards Categories
The PRII Communication Impact Awards will feature 14 categories which highlight the diversity and significance of modern communications work:
- Most Impactful Communication Campaign: The overall award for an outstanding campaign with measurable impact. Selected from the winners of categories 1-10. No entry form required.
- Most Impactful Print/Broadcast Media Campaign: Recognising compelling earned media campaigns that captivated audiences. (PDF)
- Most Impactful Digital/Social Media Campaign: Honouring innovative, high-engagement digital campaigns (excluding paid placements). (PDF)
- Best Crisis/Issues Communication Project: Showcasing excellence in crisis/issues communication and reputation management. (PDF)
- Best Internal Communication Project: Rewarding internal communication work that enhanced employee engagement and organisational culture. (PDF)
- Best Integrated Communication Campaign: Celebrating multi-channel, holistic communication strategies. (PDF)
- Most Impactful Public Affairs Campaign (sponsored by Muck Rack): Rewarding public affairs initiatives that influenced policy or public discourse. (PDF)
- Most Impactful Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Communication Campaign: Highlighting initiatives that drive social good, corporate responsibility, and/or sustainability. (PDF)
- Best Application of AI Tools by a Communication Team: Recognising innovative and ethical use of AI in communications. (PDF)
- Best Sponsorship Relationship: Honouring partnerships that delivered tangible benefits for both the sponsor and sponsored entity. (PDF)
- Most Impactful Event: Celebrating a PR event which helped deliver a campaign objective or impact. (PDF)
- The PRII Pro of the Year & The PRII Up-and-Coming Pro of the Year: Recognising outstanding individual contributions at both early-career and senior levels.Open to PRII members working in consultancy and in-house.
- The PRII Consultancy Team of the Year & The PRII In-House Team of the Year: Celebrating dynamic, high-performing communications teams. Open to PRII members working in consultancy and in-house (PDF)
Meet the Judges
Meet the judging panel for the PRII Communication Impact Awards 2026:
Jacqueline Hall, FPRII
Jacqueline Hall is a Fellow and former President of the PRII. She is also Founder and Principal of Partners in Communication, a consultancy providing expert advice in Public Affairs, Corporate Communications & Governance and Stakeholder Engagement. Her career experience has comprised developing and leading stakeholder engagement on policy and regulatory issues in Ireland for global brands and national organisations, across a range of business sectors. She has also served on a number of Boards of cultural institutions, membership organisations, semi-state companies and NGOs. She graduated from University College Dublin with a BA (Hons), History & History of Art, and holds further qualifications from Technical University Dublin (Marketing Management), UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School (Grad Dip in Corporate Governance), The Honourable Society of King’s Inns (Advanced Dip in Data Protection Law/GDPR), and Trinity College Dublin (Grad Dip in Conflict & Dispute Resolutions).
Orna Clarke
Orna Clarke and Murray colleague Lughán Deane won the PR category of Cannes Young Lions Ireland in 2020 and went on to represent the Irish PR sector at the global competition in 2021, competing against teams from 23 other countries to win Silver.
Orna began her career in 2016 with an internship in consumer and brand PR, before joining the Corporate and Public Affairs team at Murray in 2017. In 2022 Orna relocated to Edinburgh and joined BIG Partnership, representing Scottish, UK and international clients across the public and private sectors. She was promoted to Account Director at BIG in 2023 and now leads a variety of corporate accounts across the agency’s teams in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Manchester.
Orna currently sits on PRCA UK’s PR and Communications Board.
Orla Graham
Based in the UK, Orla is a seasoned communications measurement and insights specialist with over 18 years of experience in building strategic, impactful global measurement programmes for communications and PR leaders all around the world. She has developed and led measurement programmes for international clients across a range of sectors, including UNICEF, Red Bull, Tourism Ireland, Wellcome Trust, Marie Curie, Cancer Research UK, Bayer, Ernst & Young, and various UK government departments. She advises clients on best practice, provides consultation workshops and guidance, develops research methodologies at CARMA and is a thought leader in the industry.
Orla has designed and led various AMEC-award winning accounts and was named AMEC's Executive Professional of the Year in 2023.
April Hogan
Based in London, April is a seasoned agency leader with over 15 years'-experience in culture first earned media campaigns. She began her career in Edelman in Dublin before crossing the pond to work in agencies including Edelman and Burson.
She is now Deputy Managing Director of award-winning creative comms agency Here Be Dragons. April has worked on some of the world’s, and UK’s biggest brands including KFC, Greggs, Beavertown Brewery, Heineken, Disney, PayPal and Xbox.
April’s interest has always been in how to effectively and authentically place a brand in culture. Campaigns that stop the scroll, get people talking over a pint or kick off in DMs are what she loves.
Dr Kevin Hora, MPRII
An expereinced Judge, Dr Kevin Hora, MPRII, is Head of Discipline of Journalism and Communications in the School of Media in TU Dublin, and former programme chair of the MAs in Public Relations, and Public Affairs and Political Communication (which are accredited by the PRII).
The author of Propaganda and Nation Building. Selling the Irish Free State and Quick Win Public Relations, he was lead editor on Public Relations and the Sustainable Development Goals. Case Studies in Practice.
With research interests in contemporary and historical PR and political communication, he is currently supervising three PhD candidates.
Anna McHugh, FPRII
Anna McHugh, FPRII, is Head of Corporate Communications with An Post.
An experienced and award-winning communications strategist and PR practitioner, she began her career in agency and freelance PR before moving to in-house Press & PR roles. Anna has developed An Post’s Press, PR, Public Affairs and Internal Communications function over three decades and led its communications strategy during the company’s transformation into a world-class ecommerce logistics, retail and financial services company.
A Fellow of the PRII and a graduate of UCD and DIT (now TUD), Anna is a director of the GPO Museum and a member of the Taoiseach’s Taskforce for Dublin.
Sinéad McSweeney
Sinéad McSweeney is a former Global Vice President of Public Policy at Twitter and was also the managing director of Twitter’s international headquarters in Dublin between 2015 and 2022.
She is a seasoned public policy and communications leader with over 20 years experience across the private and public sectors.
She served as Director of Communications for both An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland where she led critical communications efforts during transformative periods. Prior to taking up these communications roles, Sinéad held a number of political advisory positions in the Irish government, including as Special Adviser to the Attorney General and to the Minister for Justice.
Sinéad is currently pursuing a Psychology degree in Trinity College Dublin and was recently appointed to the inaugural board of An Garda Síochána.
Niamh O’Carroll, FPRII
Niamh O’Carroll, FPRII, is one of Ireland’s leading strategic communications experts, with over 30 years’ experience in PR, corporate responsibility, and consultancy. She is also an experienced communication awards Judge. As founder of O’Carroll Consulting, Niamh works primarily with clients in design, interiors, and tourism, delivering creative strategies that bring both insight and impact to their work.
A qualified executive coach and passionate mentor, Niamh brings a strong coaching ethos to her work. Niamh has twelve years’ experience as a Judge of public relations awards. Niamh’s specialties span public relations, strategic communications, corporate responsibility, public campaigns, and media relations. Niamh sits on the boards of two non-profits.
She is a Fellow of the PRII, a recipient of a University of Limerick Alumni Award for her contribution to society, and the creative mind behind campaigns such as the ‘Global Gift Campaign’ for Trócaire and the ‘Thank You Book’ for the Irish Hospice Foundation.
Gerard O’Neill
Gerard O’Neill is Chairman of Amárach Research and leads the strategic consulting practice in Amárach, working with senior management teams to create resilient strategies for the future. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and worked previously in the Henley Centre for Forecasting and An Post.
Gerard is a Fellow of the Marketing Institute of Ireland (MII) and has recently served as Chairperson of MII. He served two terms on the National Statistics Board, a statutory body overseeing the development of official statistics in Ireland.
His book '2016: A New Proclamation for a New Generation' is published by Mercer Press.
An Evening of Celebration
The awards ceremony on Friday, 18 September 2026 will take place at the Conrad Ballroom, Conrad Hotel, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, promising a glamorous and fun evening for Ireland’s communication sector.
Dress code for the night is Smart.