Leitrim Design House marks 25 years with National Craft & Design Awards

Carrick-on-Shannon was alive with creativity on Friday, August 15th, as The Leitrim Design House hosted its 2025 National Design, Craft & Art Awards at The Dock Arts Centre. The landmark event marked 25 years of supporting and showcasing Irish makers, attracting artists and designers from across the country.

The awards, held as part of August Craft Month and supported by Local Enterprise Office Leitrim and the Design & Craft Council Ireland, spotlight excellence in Irish design while offering a vital platform for emerging and established talent.

This year’s shortlist featured ten makers responding to the theme of sustainability: Emma Bourke, Fiona Byrne, Frances McGonigle, Jim Fee, Michael Healey, Niamh O’Connell, Pearl Reddington, Richard West, Sam Gleeson and Vicky Crawford.

Following a live showcase and evaluation by a panel of industry leaders—including Eddie Shanahan, Mary Palmer, Úna Burke, Deirdre McQuillan and Joe Lowe—the awards were announced to a packed theatre.

Richard West took first prize (€2,500 and a solo exhibition) for Abyss, a striking natural-edge vessel turned from scorched ash, gilded with copper leaf. West created the piece from a storm-felled ash tree on the shores of Lough Fee, describing it as a way to capture both the violence of the storm and the glow of the valley’s evening light.

The specially commended award (€1,000) went to Vicky Crawford for Hedgerow Engineers, an intricate collagraph print inspired by the ingenuity of the long-tailed tit. Crawford built her printing plate using moss, lichen, wallpaper and even recycled oat milk cartons, all inked with vegetable-based pigments and pressed on a 400-year-old press in Manorhamilton.

The judges praised all ten finalists for their thought-provoking presentations, which highlighted not only the finished works but also the research and inspiration behind them.

An exhibition of the shortlisted and winning works is now open at The Leitrim Design House in The Dock until Saturday, September 13th. Visitors can explore the diversity of Irish craftsmanship on display, with many pieces available for purchase.

For full details and event updates, visit www.leitrimdesignhouse.ie

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