Awards

The BA in Visual Merchandising & Display programme at TU Dublin is celebrating a successful and inspiring week at WorldSkills Ireland 2026, held in the RDS, where creativity, innovation and professional expertise were on display throughout the competition.

Michelle Lalor, Lecturer and course co-ordinator in Visual Merchandising at TU Dublin, facilitated the Visual Merchandising competition and served as Chief Examiner for Visual Merchandising Design alongside colleagues Michelle Malone and Anthony O'Connor.
This year's competition challenged participants to respond to the theme “Balance and Imbalance”, developing a gender-neutral visual merchandising concept supported by a strong slogan. Competitors were tasked with creating innovative fashion and accessories displays without the use of mannequins, requiring both creativity and adaptability.
Four talented competitors took part: Juliet Caruthers Weston, Tess Daly, Allanah Mullin and Conor Delaney. Throughout the two-and-a-half-day event, each competitor demonstrated exceptional professionalism, technical skill and creative thinking while engaging with the many visitors who attended the exhibition.
TU Dublin is delighted to congratulate Conor Delaney, who was awarded the Silver Medal in Visual Merchandising at WorldSkills Ireland 2026. Conor impressed the judging team with his strong technical execution, commercial design approach, attention to detail and sophisticated understanding of balance within visual merchandising practice.
Reflecting on the competition, Michelle Lalor praised all participants for their dedication and commitment:
“The standard of work was exceptionally high, and all four competitors demonstrated remarkable creativity, professionalism and resilience throughout the event. They should be extremely proud of their achievements.”
The Visual Merchandising team at TU Dublin extends its congratulations to all competitors and acknowledges the valuable role that WorldSkills Ireland plays in promoting excellence, innovation and industry-focused skills development.
Congratulations to Conor Delaney on his silver medal achievement and to all competitors for representing the future of visual merchandising with such distinction.

Emma Gill, a recent graduate of the BA(Hons) Interior & Furniture Design has beat off international competition to win the Design History Society Undergraduate Essay Prize 2022, for her essay based on her undergraduate thesis. This thesis was titled 'Why is Modern Design Employed to Reinforce the Concept of Villainy in Film? Immorality and Modernism in the Contemporary Villain’s Lair' and looks at the role that interiors, furniture and architecture plays in film, and particularly focuses on how Modernist design is used in depicting villain's basement lairs.

More detail about Emma's essay can be read here: https://www.designhistorysociety.org/blog/view/2022-undergraduate-essay-prize-winner-emma-gill-shares-an-overview-of-her-winning-essay

Congratulations to our graduates on winning and commendations at the IDI Graduate Awards 2021

VISUAL MERCHANDISING/EXHIBITION DESIGN
Winner
H2O I DO Morgan Rafferty TU Dublin

PRODUCT (FURNITURE)
Winner
Framing Space Shona Hunt TU Dublin

DESIGN RESEARCH
Commended
Distinction or Resistance: Investigating the Appeal of Analogue Printing Today Lydia Moran TU Dublin

DESIGN FOR MOVING IMAGE
Commended
Music in Deaf Ears Jaima Gago TU Dublin

PRINTED BOOK
Commended
Universal Languages: From Silent to Talkies Jaima Gago TU Dublin
The Influence of Metropolis Timmy Warren TU Dublin

TYPOGRAPHY
Commended
Holistic Herbalism Claire-Louise Vickery TU Dublin
Lords of the Wood Lydia Moran TU Dublin

UNIVERSAL DESIGN
Commended
Drogheda Community Centre Laima Jaceviciute TU Dublin