The sharks dine out for annual celebratory feast
The Kinsale Sharks remains one of the most respected and longest-running creative festivals in the world. The 2026 Shark Awards festival in Kinsale runs from September 16 to 18.
Now in its 63rd year, the Kinsale Sharks remains one of the most respected and longest-running creative festivals in the world.
Founded in 1962 in Kinsale, the event has grown into a truly international showcase. What began as a local advertising competition is now a multi-category awards platform attracting agencies, production companies and artists from across the globe.
Toby Walsham, CEO of Imagine This, shared the magic of Kinsale 2025: “Kinsale feels like the kind of place where, by the end of the weekend, you’ve bumped into everyone at least once — whether over a pint, or a bloody mary, or did I say a pint, or just on the walk back from the Bulman. Why do I love the Kinsale Shark Awards? Firstly, the people who run it. Peter, Eugene, and Mark are actually present, visible, and invested in making the festival a success for you. That intimacy is rare.”
Last year, Toby had the privilege of being a judge and remarked it was done the old-school way — in a room, with fellow jurors, debating the work and arguing it out. “Compared to the online judging process that dominates most other festivals — where it’s too easy to skim, skip, or push the responsibility onto a PA against the looming deadline — Kinsale’s approach felt refreshingly human. And yes, I run two fully remote businesses, so the irony wasn’t lost on me. But I loved it. Being in the room, in person, was invaluable.”
For Toby, the magic of Kinsale lies in its atmosphere.
“It’s a small coastal town that hasn’t been swallowed by giant tech logos plastered across beaches. The cost to attend is a fraction of Cannes, and with that, the pressure melts away. There’s no frantic rush to scan QR codes or swap business cards by the dozen. Instead, connections happen naturally and meaningfully.”
Mark Denton, who was President in 2019, has similar warm memories of his time at the Sharks.
“I do like talking, and I’d heard that Kinsale was great for networking, and I’d never been before so I thought ‘why not?’ I asked them if I could swap the TV jury for the Outdoor and Press jury because they’re generally less gruelling and I’m not quite as patient as I used to be.”
It turned out that Mark would have to spend the whole four days of the festival. “I thought ‘Oh well, in for a penny’ and packed a few more pairs of pants and socks and headed for the airport. It was a revelation. I could never have guessed how much I would enjoy my whole experience there.”
He found the networking was every bit as great as everyone had said, “but not in a cynical business-y sort of way, it felt warm and friendly and genuine. On my jury, I was surrounded by people who had strong opinions and weren’t afraid to voice them. They knew what they were talking about, even if I didn’t agree with them. It was argumentative, passionate and a right laugh too.”
When he finally got round to doing his talk, he had had the time to get to meet a lot of the audience, and remarked it was like delivering it to a bunch of friends. “It’s probably the most fun I’d ever had delivering a lecture, and fortunately, the audience seemed to like it as well. That was it, I was definitely going to return the next year and maybe I’d even enter some work into a few categories. I just wanted to join in and be part of it.”
Laura Swinton Gupta, editor in chief and MD at Little Black Book, remembers a week of warmth, authenticity and Guinness.
“As ad festivals go, it may not be the biggest in the world but I’m starting to see the value in these intimate and authentic industry get-togethers. Give me genuine human connections over corporate sheen and huge crowds any day. As a Kinsale virgin, I thought I knew what to expect: lots of Guinness. And while there were indubitably ridiculous quantities of the black stuff consumed throughout the three days, my preconceptions were, at best, incomplete.
"There was, as far as I know, only one alcohol-induced injury. For one thing no one had told me just how pretty the town was – colourful streets straight out of the British kids’ show Balamory, peppered with old-style pubs, quirky shops and top-notch restaurants. The quiet folksiness of our surroundings felt like the perfect spot, particularly given the fact that the industry just can’t stop banging on about authenticity.”
