The Irish Butchers’ Guild has announced the winners of its 2025 Retail Excellence Awards, which recognise achievements in retail meat display, store presentation, and shopfront excellence among independent butchers across Ireland.

According to the guild, this year’s awards were judged on several criteria, including product presentation, visual appeal, creativity, merchandising, brand consistency, and overall customer experience.

Award winners

The highest honour, Overall Retail Store Excellence, was awarded to Fresh Food Courtyard in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford.

According to a statement from the guild, this business “demonstrated industry-leading standards in store presentation, product layout, branding and customer experience, achieving the strongest overall performance across all judging categories”.

Two more businesses were recognised as Category Champions for demonstrating excellence in specific areas of retail performance.

Murphy’s Craft Butchers, Tullow, Co. Carlow received the Category Champion title for Fresh Meat Display, while and Butchers Best, New Ross, Co. Waterford was awarded Category Champion for Shopfront Presentation.

Excellence Awards 

Other independent butchers receiving Excellence Awards this year in recognition of their shops' outstanding store layout, merchandising, product visibility, cleanliness and brand presentation, included:

Callaghan Butchers, Bettystown, Co. Meath;
Corrigan’s Butchers, Drumcondra and Finglas, Dublin;
Cribbin Family Butchers, Naas, Co. Kildare;
Grogan & Brown Artisan Butchers, Kilkenny;
Millar Meats, Irvinestown, Co. Fermanagh;
B. Molloy Master Butchers, Ennis, Co. Clare;
Denver Morrissey’s Family Butchers, Shannon, Co. Cork;
Davidson’s Craft Butchers, Cork;
Jim Crowley Craft Butchers, Midleton, Co. Cork;
O’Briens Butchers, Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork.

‘Exceptional standards’

John Molloy of the Irish Butchers’ Guild said: “These awards highlight the dedication, creativity, and professionalism that our members bring to their businesses every single day.

“We are proud to recognise this year’s winners, as their effort and passion strengthen the reputation of Irish butchery nationwide.”

Further businesses received Excellence Awards for Fresh Meat Display in recognition of outstanding product presentation, cutting standards, display flow, variety, and visual appeal.