ARLENE Dooley, centre, from The Lan Kitchen, Monivea who won Best in County - Galway at the Blas na hÉireann Awards 2026 with Fallon Moore and Sandra Regan from Galway LEO.

Monivea bakery is declared ‘Best in County’ at awards

Producers in Dunmore and Athenry also honoured

Published: Wed 7 Oct 2026, 8:06 AM

A FOOD producer in North East Galway has been named the Best in County at the Blas nah Éireann 2026.

The Lán Kitchen, a small bakery based in Monivea received the honour at an event held on Friday, October 2 in Dingle, Co. Kerry.

Sponsored by Galway Local Enterprise Office (LEO), the bakery offers a range of handmade and creative desserts for food businesses in Galway prepared by owner Arlene Dooley, who is an experienced pastry chef.

“This award is a wonderful recognition of Arlene’s exceptional talent, creativity and commitment to quality artisan baking,” said Caroline McDonagh, Head of Enterprise at Galway LEO.

“Through her innovative and beautifully crafted products, she has built a distinctive Galway food business that combines skill, passion and originality,” she added.

Along with The Lán Kitchen, three other food producers in North and East Galway namely Crust Gluten Free in Athenry, Galway Cheese in Dunmore and The Foods of Athenry were among the 14 producers from Galway to win a gold, silver or bronze medal in various categories.

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LARRY and Anne Maguire from Galway Cheese in Dunmore, who won Bronze at the Blas na hÉireann Awards 2026 presented by Chris McFadden and Fallon Moore. Photo: Andrew Watchorn

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SIOBHAN Lawless and Paul Lawless, centre, from Foods of Athenry, who won Silver at the Blas na hÉireann Awards 2026 presented by Emmet Logue and Fallon Moore. Photo: Andrew Watchorn

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ROSALEEN Coates and Niall Coates from Crust Gluten Free, Athenry who won Silver at the Blas na hÉireann Awards 2026 presented by Emmet Logue and Fallon Moore. Photo: Andrew Watchorn

It was another record year for Blas na hÉireann, with over 3,000 entries across more than 200 categories, reflecting the strength and diversity of Irish food and drink.

“The standard of entries continues to climb, with producers demonstrating incredible creativity and a real commitment to quality,” commented the Chairperson of Blas na hÉireann, Artie Clifford.