Áine Mulcahy, managing director of OCS Group Ireland, received the overall leader award at the inaugural Women in Facilities Management Awards 2025, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Santry, Dublin.
The ceremony, which attracted 134 attendees, celebrated exceptional women leaders, innovators and changemakers who are elevating the facilities management (FM) sector in Ireland. Hosted by Fiona Buckley, the event recognised winners across 13 categories from a total of 40 entries.
OCS Group provides cleaning, security, catering, hard services, pest control, multi-technical and other FM services to organisations around the world, with a leading presence in Ireland and the UK. The group employs 130,000 people globally and serves approximately 8,000 customers.
The FM sector in Ireland is a growing industry that plays a crucial role in supporting business operations across various sectors. Growth has been driven by increased outsourcing of noncore business functions, the large presence of multinational corporations and tech companies in Ireland, and rising demand for integrated FM services.
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Current sector trends include increased focus on energy efficiency and environmental management, technology integration of smart building systems and data analytics, adapting to hybrid working models post-pandemic, and regulatory requirements around health, safety and building standards.
The Women in FM Awards were created to shine a spotlight on the outstanding achievements of women shaping the future of FM in Ireland, showcasing those who create work environments that are not only functional and efficient but also promote wellbeing and productivity.
Judging coordinator Eileen Slamon highlighted that FM encompasses a broad range of diverse skills, from technical knowledge to roles where customer interaction is key to success.
“By creating awards which are focused solely on the impact which women are having across the sector, we are shining a bright light on some very talented and successful women who are elevating the industry even further,” she said.
“The quality of entries received in the inaugural Women in FM Awards event was very encouraging and I fully expect we will see many of these names highlighted at future awards ceremonies in the future. What is also very encouraging is the calibre of women in senior leadership roles across all aspects of the industry.”
Fellow judge Gillian O’Connor said it was inspiring to see the depth of talent, leadership, and innovation from the nominees. “Every application told a story of resilience, impact, and dedication to raising standards in our industry,” she stated.
MKF Property Services was the gold sponsor of the inaugural awards programme. “The secret of MKF’s success has always been our people, so we are delighted to be sponsoring the inaugural Women in FM Awards,” said managing director Derek O’Boyle. “These awards provide a great platform to celebrate the exceptional work and leadership of women in our industry, and champion the progress we are making in FM”
The woman led team award was presented to CBRE. “We’re absolutely delighted to have won the award tonight on behalf of the team,” said CBRE co-chair Michelle Wallace. “The awards are a valuable initiative, and we’re really looking forward to competing next year again. It’s great to see the progression that women in FM are being recognised.”
Rising star award winner Helen McManus commented: “I’m so proud to have been a part of Women in FM Awards 2025 and honoured to be around such amazing women. This achievement reflects the dedication of our incredible team at Riverside Maintenance.”
Fionnuala Byrne, director of workplace services at Google, received the legacy award. “I can’t survive without strong leadership, because without the leadership how are our teams going to know how to be effective in their workplace?” she reflected “It’s really important to be able to recognise everybody that does the hard work every single day behind the scenes.”
Kevin O’Driscoll, director of partnership programmes at awards organiser BusinessRiver, commented: “Events like this are made possible through the support of sponsors. We are thankful to our 2025 sponsor, MKF Property Services. I also want to recognise our supporter, Amárach Research and our communications partner, The Irish Times. Their investment in the awards underlines their commitment and support of this key business area.”
Awards judges
- Eileen Slamon (judging coordinator) – workplace manager
- Marie Caffrey – director, Universal Floral
- Carmel Margaret Lindkvist – professor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
- Des Mahon – director, Authenticate
- Gillian O’Connor – studying sustainability in UCD
- Patrick Ó Sullivan – director of support services, Eir
- Trevor Smyth – regional workplace service property manager, Google
Award winners
Overall leader award
Winner: Áine Mulcahy – OCS Ireland
Best female led team
Winner: CBRE – Women’s Network
Excellence in service provider (sponsored by MKF Property Services)
Winner: Cristiana Besteliu – SOS Group
Excellence in property management
Winner: Aimée Cafferty – Wyse Property Management
Excellence in senior leadership – large employer
Winner: Áine Mulcahy – OCS Ireland
Excellence in senior leadership
Winner: Gill MC Donald – ISS Ireland
Best sustainability leadership
Winner: Hayley Egan – Savills
Best operations leadership
Winner: Sinéad Grogan – ABM Ireland
Best environmental, health and safety leadership
Winner: Mariane Merchiori – Mitie Facilities Management
Diversity, equality and inclusion strategy of the year
Winner: Apleona Ireland
Mentor of the year
Winner: Monique Campher – OCS Ireland
Rising star of the year (sponsored by MKF Property Services)
Winner: Helen McManus – Riverside Maintenance
Legacy award
Recipient: Fionnuala Byrne
