Sean Corcoran of The Art Hand, Co. Waterford has been named the winner of the Creative Circular Design category at the Full Circle Awards 2026.

Sean receives a €2,000 prize and a one-of-a-kind handcrafted trophy created from upcycled materials.

The Full Circle Awards are run by Circular.ie, Ireland’s national platform for circular economy.

The awards celebrate individuals, organisations and community groups across Ireland finding practical ways to reduce waste, reuse resources and make more sustainable use of what we already have. The awards are funded by the Government of Ireland under the Circular Economy Fund.

His work at The Art Hand combines creativity and reuse, including his large-scale Crockery Mountain project, which transformed more than 10,000 pieces of broken and discarded crockery into a 40-foot mosaic. More than 150 volunteers took part in creating the artwork, giving unwanted materials a new life while bringing the community together through art. 

Speaking about the Full Circle Awards, Eibhlin Fitzpatrick, Community Manager at Circular.ie, said: “We were incredibly impressed by the quality of this year’s nominations. What really stood out was how practical a lot of the work is. These are people and groups finding ways to make better use of what we already have, whether that’s repairing, reusing, creating, sharing or simply doing things differently. The six winners have all made a real impact in their communities and it is great to be able to recognise that work.”

The awards ceremony took place in Carlow on 17 September. For more information please visit: https://circular.ie/full-circle-awards-2026