Ómós in Abbeyleix Named Ireland's Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year at Georgina Campbell Awards 2026
The 2026 Georgina Campbell Irish Food and Hospitality Awards have named Ómós in Abbeyleix, County Laois, as Ireland's Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year, with Wade Murphy of 1826 Adare in County Limerick taking the Chef of the Year title at a ceremony held at the InterContinental Hotel in Dublin on Monday evening.
Background
The Georgina Campbell Irish Food and Hospitality Awards have been a fixture of the Irish culinary calendar for more than four decades, serving as the most authoritative independent assessment of excellence across the country's restaurant, hotel, and hospitality sectors. Unlike many industry awards that rely on peer nominations or public voting, the Campbell awards are determined through a year-round programme of anonymous visits by expert assessors who attend as paying customers — a methodology that gives the results a credibility that few comparable awards can match.
This year's ceremony carried a particular thematic weight. In her address to the assembled industry figures, Georgina Campbell expressed concern about what she described as the "loss of hospitality" in Ireland — a creeping replacement of warm, human-centred service with cold digital interactions. The 2026 awards were explicitly framed as a celebration of the human touch, recognising establishments that ensure guests feel genuinely valued rather than merely processed.
The Irish hospitality sector has faced considerable headwinds in recent years, with energy costs, staffing pressures, and the lingering effects of post-pandemic disruption combining to create what many operators describe as an existential challenge. Against that backdrop, the awards serve not just as recognition but as a statement of confidence in the sector's capacity to endure and excel.
Key Developments
Ómós, the Abbeyleix restaurant that took the top fine dining prize, has built a reputation for produce-led cooking that draws deeply on the agricultural richness of County Laois and the surrounding midlands. The win represents a significant moment for a region not traditionally associated with destination dining, and it is likely to drive considerable interest in the restaurant from visitors across the country.
Wade Murphy of 1826 Adare in County Limerick was named Chef of the Year, a recognition of his sustained excellence at one of Ireland's most celebrated country house restaurants. The Bishop's Buttery at Cashel Palace Hotel in County Tipperary took the Fine Dining Hotel Restaurant of the Year award, while Mamó in Howth, Dublin 13, was named Neighbourhood Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year. Everett's in Waterford claimed the Bijou Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year title.
Among the other notable winners, Lough Eske Castle in County Donegal was named Five-Star Hotel of the Year, and Killarney Royal Townhouse in County Kerry took the Four-Star Hotel of the Year award. The Hawthorn by Galway Bay in Oranmore was recognised as Newcomer of the Year, while Paul and Máire Flynn of The Tannery in Dungarvan received the Hospitality Hero award for their decades of contribution to Irish food culture.
Why It Matters
The geographic spread of this year's winners is striking and significant. Ómós in Laois, The Bishop's Buttery in Tipperary, Lough Eske Castle in Donegal, and The Tannery in Waterford represent a hospitality landscape that extends well beyond Dublin and the traditional tourist corridors of Kerry and Galway. This is the third consecutive year in which the top fine dining award has gone to a restaurant outside the capital, a trend that reflects both the genuine quality emerging in regional Ireland and the growing appetite among Irish diners to travel for exceptional food experiences.
For the hospitality sector as a whole, the awards arrive at a moment of acute financial pressure. Electricity bills have surged dramatically over the past eighteen months, and many smaller operators have been forced to reduce opening hours or close entirely. The recognition of establishments that have maintained standards despite these pressures sends an important signal — that quality and commitment are still being noticed and rewarded.
Local Impact
In Abbeyleix, a heritage town in County Laois with a population of just over 2,000, the news that Ómós has been named Ireland's finest fine dining restaurant has been met with considerable local pride. The restaurant has been a significant draw for visitors to the town, and its recognition at national level is expected to further boost tourism to an area that has invested considerably in its heritage and cultural offering in recent years. For County Limerick, Wade Murphy's Chef of the Year award adds to a growing reputation for culinary excellence that has seen the region attract increasing attention from food tourism operators.
What's Next
The full list of 2026 Georgina Campbell award winners will be published in the updated edition of the Georgina Campbell Guides, which serves as the definitive reference for Irish food and hospitality. The awards ceremony traditionally marks the beginning of the autumn dining season, and many of the winning establishments are expected to see a significant uptick in bookings in the weeks ahead. The 2027 assessment cycle begins immediately, with anonymous visits already under way across the country.
