Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 5th November 2026 Issue no. 1233
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ICCA Awards 2026: Ireland celebrates its best!
The cream of the Irish cleaning industry gathered recently in Dublin's fabulous Mansion House building, to discover and applaud the winners of the Irish Contract Cleaners Association Industry Awards 2026. The Awards are the ICCA's flagship event which takes place every two years. This year it was hosted by comedian Mario Rosenstock.
"Cleaning is work that most people only notice when it isn't done,” said the ICCA’s Jillian Wilson."Today was about noticing it. The people honoured here keep hospitals safe, campuses open and workplaces running, and many of them have built long careers doing it. These Awards are our industry's way of saying thank you, and of showing what a career in cleaning can look like."
A total of 32 Awards were presented: 29 across 13 categories, followed by the three overall winners, recognising the people who keep the country's hospitals, campuses and workplaces clean. Entries were judged on written submissions and site visits.
Bidvest Noonan's contract at University College Dublin took the Overall Winning Site title. The independent judges, Lynn Webster, owner of Lynn Webster Consultants, and Lorraine Larman, managing director at Safety Solutions, described the UCD contract as one that "ticks all the boxes". It is built on a client relationship of more than 30 years, and the team supports about 4,000 events on campus each year.
Both overall individual titles went to staff at Samsic Facility. Ana Lucaci Valerica, who works at LinkedIn's offices at 4 Wilton Park in Dublin, was named Overall Winning Site Cleaning Operative. Eva Kekesne Gulyas, who leads the cleaning team at Pinterest's Dublin office, was named Overall Winning Site Supervisor.
Derrycourt took all six healthcare awards. Its team at Children's Health Ireland (CHI) at Tallaght won the Site, Supervisor and Operative awards in the acute category. Its team at St Mary's Hospital in the Phoenix Park did the same in the non-acute category.
Derrycourt's Alin Gavriliu was named Rising Star. He began as a frontline cleaning operative and is now site manager at an acute hospital, leading more than 150 operatives. The company's Crime Scene Cleaning Team was named Cleaning Team of the Year for its work in demanding and sensitive environments.
In retail, Bidvest Noonan's team at Kildare Village won all three Awards. Among the winners was site operative Agnieszka Sadlak, who has not taken a sick day in 18 years.
Bidvest Noonan also won the Technological Innovation / Digital Transformation Award for its TASK platform, which replaced 21 separate systems with one. Aramark won the Training & People Development Award. SeaClean's contract at Indeed's Capital Dock offices was named Best Cleaned Premises by a Small Company.
The Awards were supported by headline sponsor Bunzl Ireland, gold sponsor MG Hygiene, silver sponsors Kärcher and Diversey, and bronze sponsors Bailey Hygiene, Contico, ICE, Kimberly-Clark Professional, Tork and Wipeout.
On supporting the Awards, Eoin O'Donnell of Bunzl Ireland says: "Sponsoring these awards aligns with our commitment to raising standards and celebrating the outstanding efforts of professionals who work tirelessly to maintain clean, safe, and healthy spaces for all."
At a glance: full list of winners and the category sponsors…
Overall winners (sponsored by Bunzl Ireland):
• Overall Winning Site: University College Dublin, cleaned by Bidvest Noonan
• Overall Winning Site Supervisor: Eva Kekesne Gulyas, employed by Samsic Facility at the Pinterest Dublin office
• Overall Winning Site Cleaning Operative: Ana Lucaci Valerica, employed by Samsic Facility
• at LinkedIn, 4 Wilton Park
Site categories…
Educational Buildings (sponsored by Kärcher):
• Site: University College Dublin, cleaned by Bidvest Noonan
• Site Supervisor: Faye Diggins, employed by ABC Cleaning Services & Supplies at Munster Technological University
• Site Operative: Marcus Santos, employed by Grosvenor Services at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick
Healthcare – Acute (sponsored by Diversey):
• Site: CHI at Tallaght, cleaned by Derrycourt
• Site Supervisor: Victoria Hemei, employed by Derrycourt at CHI at Tallaght
• Site Operative: Natalia Frunza, employed by Derrycourt at CHI at Tallaght
Healthcare - Non-Acute (sponsored by Bailey Hygiene):
• Site: St Mary's Hospital, Phoenix Park, cleaned by Derrycourt
• Site Supervisor: Ivan Varga, employed by Derrycourt at St Mary's Hospital, Phoenix Park
• Site Operative: Maria Porca, employed by Derrycourt at St Mary's Hospital, Phoenix Park
Manufacturing / Industrial (sponsored by Kärcher):
• Site: Temmler Ireland pharmaceutical plant, cleaned by ABC Cleaning Services & Supplies
• Site Supervisor: Ann Marie O'Doherty, employed by Bidvest Noonan at MSD Vaccines Facility
• Site Operative: Mate Pusztai, employed by ABC Cleaning Services & Supplies at Temmler Ireland pharmaceutical plant
Retail Buildings (sponsored by Contico):
• Site: Kildare Village, cleaned by Bidvest Noonan
• Site Supervisor: Daniel Juszkiewicz, employed by Bidvest Noonan at Kildare Village
• Site Operative: Agnieszka Sadlak, employed by Bidvest Noonan at Kildare Village
Offices over 50,001sq.ft (sponsored by MG Hygiene):
• Site: Global technology client (name withheld), cleaned by Derrycourt
• Site Supervisor: Floare Pascu, employed by Samsic Facility at LinkedIn, 4 Wilton Park
• Site Operative: Ana Lucaci Valerica, employed by Samsic Facility at LinkedIn, 4 Wilton Park
Offices up to 50,000sq.ft (sponsored by Wipeout):
• Site: Pinterest Dublin office, cleaned by Samsic Facility
• Site Supervisor: Eva Kekesne Gulyas, employed by Samsic Facility at Pinterest Dublin office
• Site Operative: Olga Vavzinaka, employed by Samsic Facility at Pinterest Dublin office
Best Cleaned Premises by a Small Company (sponsored by MG Hygiene):
• Site: Indeed at Capital Dock, cleaned by SeaClean
• Site Supervisor: Sabina Knap, employed by SeaClean at Indeed at Capital Dock
• Site Operative: Gabriela Beatrice Cojocariu, employed by Domestic & General Property Support Services at Landsdowne Place
Single Awards:
• Training & People Development Award (sponsored by Kimberly-Clark Professional) - Winner: Aramark
• Technological Innovation / Digital Transformation (sponsored by Tork) - Winner: TASK Digital Operations Platform - Bidvest Noonan
• Support Staff Award (sponsored by Diversey) - Winner: Derrycourt WMT Team
• Rising Star (sponsored by MG Hygiene) - Winner: Alin Gavriliu, employed by Derrycourt
• Cleaning Team of the Year (sponsored by Bunzl Ireland) - Winner: Derrycourt Crime Scene Cleaning Team
The contract cleaning industry employs more than 30,000 people in Ireland. The ICCA is the representative body for the cleaning industry in Ireland that sets the standard for professional cleaning services through education, representation and excellence.
www.irishcontractcleaningassociation.ie
5th November 2026