Five Dublin nursing home staff win top Nursing Homes Ireland Care Awards 2026

Five Dublin‑based nursing home professionals were named winners at the Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) Care Awards 2026 on Thursday, 5 November.

The ceremony took place in the Hogan Suite at Croke Park Stadium and featured 31 shortlisted finalists from across the sector. Over 335 people attended, celebrating excellence in areas such as nursing, care assistance, activities coordination, culinary services, end‑of‑life care, dementia care and innovative practice.

This year’s awards saw a record‑breaking 300 + nominations. An independent judging panel – Professor Amanda Phelan of DCU, Paula O’Reilly, CEO of the Irish Hospice Foundation, and Andy Heffernan, CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland – selected winners on the basis of compassion, innovation, dedication and impact on residents’ quality of life.

The Dublin winners were Laura Tully, Head Chef at Rathbourne Nursing Home; Amelia Mooney, Activities Coordinator at Ashford House Nursing Home; Jane Doyle‑Geary, Activities Coordinator at Orwell Healthcare; Nicola Flanagan, Clinical Nurse Manager 2 at Highfield Healthcare, who received the Overall Award; and Elaine Lawless, Finance Officer at St Joseph’s Shankill, who won the Administrator of the Year (The Olivia Slater Award).

Tadhg Daly, CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland, said the awards highlighted the “exceptional standard of care being delivered across Ireland’s nursing home sector” and thanked staff for their “profound difference” to residents’ lives.

Source: Dublin Gazette. Photo: Hugo Polo / Pexels.