29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Wexford woman crowned Hotpress Radio DJ of the Year
Ava presents Irish Beats every Sunday night on the region's biggest youth radio station, Beat 102 103, and she said she's 'very proud of being the number one platform for upcoming Irish artists'.
Since taking over presenter duties from Rob O'Connor, the law graduate described the new-found responsibility as 'a dream come true'.
The Campile – Ballyhack native said that being named as the top DJ in the region last year was a 'complete shock', but now being the esteemed Hotpress top favourite for a second year in a row is an overwhelming achievement for her. 'Coming out on top twice, while up against some massive personalities who have been in the radio industry for years is honestly unbelievable for me to get my head around,' she said.
'One of the reasons I'm proud of the achievement is because I'm always myself when I'm on-air. What you get with me on-air is exactly the same off-air,' she added.
The biggest highlight for Ava to date, in addition to her two Hotpress awards and as a musician herself, was celebrating the station's 21st birthday with the 21 Beats initiative. The campaign was focused around welcoming a different, upcoming Irish musician to the show each week for 21 weeks. The initiative was a huge success, gaining interest from not only the regional listeners, but further afield via their social media and online platforms, and subsequently, was nominated at the national radio awards, the IMROs, in 2024 for Best Irish Music Initiative.
"Being nominated for anything related to the show, including the IMROs and Hotpress recognition, is always something I'm really proud of, particularly with 21 Beats because I was showcasing a different person, giving them a massive platform to share their music on, and it meant so much to me that I could boost the artists,' said Ava.
'The initiative encouraged artists in many ways, for example, one artist had her her own music, but she'd never recorded a song. And for many of the artists it was a first in various ways as for some it was their first radio interview, and some of them have gone on to become huge artists since, like Kingfishr.
"Kingfishr was the first band we had on 21 Beats and by the time the 21 weeks were up and we had come to the end, they gained so much traction and had sold out the Olympia Theatre. It's success stories like that and giving artists the platform to make a name for themselves what makes the entire show so worthwhile – not to mention the enjoyment of sourcing incredible talent that's right on our doorstep,' Ava added.
Reflecting on her success in the industry in such a short time frame, Ava said that the awards and nominations are a tool she has used to combat her feeling of 'imposter syndrome'.
She said: 'I feel more confident and comfortable talking to people in the industry now, compared to when I first started, because, I feel like I'm on par with them and on the same level.
"There's always that niggling thought in the back of my mind of imposter syndrome because I didn't study broadcasting or journalism in college, and those thoughts do creep in and sometimes it is easy to think, 'these people are far more talented than me', but now, having received those nominations and the Top DJ award, it certainly makes it easier to sit in their company at events.
"However, I think I'll always be star struck when I get to chat to Ian Dempsey with the childhood memories I have of The Den,' she said.
The Station Manager at Beat 102 103, Niall Power, also said all of Ava's colleagues are 'incredibly proud of Ava for winning this award for the second year running.'
"This, along with her IMRO Radio Award nomination last October, shows the quality of our Irish music programming on Beat and the passion and commitment from Ava to support acts from Wexford and across the South East,' Mr Power added.
Also nominated in the Best Radio DJ (Local & Regional) category by Hotpress for 2025 was Michaela Hayes (Spin 1038 / Spin SW), Colm Hayes (Classic Hits), Marty Miller (Radio Nova), Stevie G (Red FM), Gemma Bradley (BBC Radio Ulster), Fionnuala Corbett (iRadio), Martin Bridgeman (KCLR), Louise Tighe (FM 104), and Kayte O'Malley (Galway Bay FM).
