Cara Murphy, Silversmith

Northern Ireland Maker of the Year Award 2024

Silversmith Cara Murphy has won this year’s inaugural Northern Ireland Maker of the Year Award, supported by the Maxwell/ Hanrahan Foundation, including a £1,000 prize awarded at a special presentation at Eltham Palace on Tuesday 26 November 2024.

The award celebrates a heritage craftsperson in Northern Ireland who has made an outstanding contribution to their craft within the previous year. It recognises a contribution that is far beyond the ordinary, either in pushing their craft to new levels, contributing to its promotion or continuation in an exceptional way.

Cara Murphy’s silverware has been recognised through high-profile awards including an RDS Irish Craft Bursary, Rosy James Memorial Award, and through the public and private collections where her work is held. In the last year she has completed her Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust scholarship, following completion of which she created a new body of silver and enamel bowls which were chisel engraved and vitreous enamelled inside and out.