While we should celebrate the women in our lives every day of the year, not just on International Women’s Day, it does offer the perfect opportunity to highlight the amazing things Irish women are up to!
We are a nation of intelligent, strong, and creative women, and it is important that we acknowledge that.
Here are 10 Irish women who are killing it at the moment, whether that’s in the world of sport, media, engineering, and the arts.
Sarah Lavin
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Sarah Lavin is an athlete from Limerick who finished 5th in the 60m hurdles final at the World Indoor Championships last week in Glasgow. The race was the fastest in the history of women’s indoor sprint hurdles.
The 29-year-old holds the Irish record for the 100m hurdle, along with the title of Ireland’s fastest woman. She has big aspirations for the Olympics in Paris this year, and we’re ready to cheer her on!
Katja Mia
Katja Mia is a model, content creator and TV presenter who we all know and love from her position as co-host of the Six O’ Clock Show and RTE’s Dancing with the Stars.
Katja really is everywhere at the moment, and she has taken on the form of a role model by using her platform to combat body-shamers and advocate for inclusivity in the media.
Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly
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Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly is a critically acclaimed film producer who hails from County Kerry. She is best known for producing Lady Macbeth starring Florence Pugh, God’s Creatures starring Emily Watson and Paul Mescal, and Ammonite starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan.
She has been nominated for two BAFTAs and an Oscar, and she now runs her own independent film production company Nine Daughters based between Kerry and London.
Nell Mescal
You may recognise Nell as the sister of a certain actor from Maynooth, but the 20-year-old has truly made a name for herself in her own right through her music.
Having made the big decision to drop out of school in 5th year and move to London to pursue her dreams, the indie singer has since performed on the Late Late Show, and headlined two Irish tours, plus one in the UK. She really is flying it!
Her debut EP Can I Miss It For A Minute? is out on the 3rd of May, and we can’t wait to listen.
Laura Fox
Ireland’s Fittest Family presenter, weekend radio host on RTE 2FM, Dancing with the Stars contestant AND our cover girl for March/April; it’s safe to say Laura Fox is absolutely flying it at the minute!
In a recent interview with STELLAR, Laura was open and honest about how success didn’t come to her overnight. To get where she is today she had to truly believe in her abilities and ask for what she wanted, while being willing to work hard for it.
She is an example of how having faith in yourself can be half the battle when reaching for your goals.
Amy Michelle
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Singer songwriter and producer Amy Michelle opened for her fellow Mullingar native, Niall Horan, on the Irish leg of his tour in February.
The 24-year-old, whose devotion to the colour purple we truly admire (just look at her Instagram), released two EPs since 2022 and has taken part in Other Voices and played at Electric Picnic, along with many more sold out gigs.
With a headline show in Dublin on the 25th of April, and after performing three sold-out nights at the 3Arena for Mr. Horan, it looks like things can only go up from here for the pop singer.
Fionnghuala O’Reilly
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Fig O’Reilly was born in Kentucky to an African American mother and Irish father. In 2019, she was crowned Miss Ireland and made history as the first woman of colour to win the competition.
A systems engineer and former NASA datanaut, Fig uses her platform to highlight the need for diversity and women in STEM.
She now works on an Emmy nominated TV show with Miranda Cosgrove called Mission Unstoppable, which aims to get more young girls interested in the world of science, technology, engineering and medicine.
Anna Geary
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Off the back of her successful sporting career playing Camogie for her home county of Cork, and entertaining the nation as a coach on Ireland’s Fittest Family, Anna Geary has now taken to the literary world with her first book.
Anna’s Game Plan is an amalgamation of personal stories and experiences along with a guide on how to navigate whatever challenges life has to throw at us.
Anna’s son Ronan was present through each stage of the book’s creation; as a baby bump, and then in his mother’s arms while she balanced editing the book with caring for a newborn. A true superwoman!
Aimee Connolly
Aimee Connolly’s brand Sculpted by Aimee is defying the odds when it comes to building a new business.
Aimee started out as a makeup artist on an Urban Decay counter when she was in transition year and blossomed into one of Ireland’s best makeup artists and successful businesswomen. She set up Sculpted by Aimee in 2016 when she was just 23 in an effort to provide high-quality, no-nonsense makeup with a ‘less is more’ approach.
She is definitely doing something right, proven by a growing presence on the high street in major locations like Grafton Street and Kildare Village, plus shop fronts in Belfast and London. Aimee is only getting started when it comes to expanding her brand, with the goal of launching in the US next year and spreading her retail presence even further in the UK.
Sally Rooney
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This 33-year old has had immense success with her all three of her published novels; Normal People, Conversations with Friends and Beautiful World Where Are You?
In 2022, Time Magazine pinned the Castlebar born author as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world. Her work has obtained a cult following and has become almost its own literary genre, with people recommending other books with the caveat “It’s very Sally Rooney”.
Her 4th book, Intermezzo, is set for release in September of this year. Needless to say, we can’t wait to get our hands on it!
Words by Sorcha Lynch