David Shaw-Smith Legacy Award

Established in 2022, the David Shaw-Smith Legacy Award champions Ireland’s master craftspeople in later stages of their careers—recognising years of dedication, outstanding contribution, and the potential to continue shaping their craft through the support of a new project. It also honours the legacy of David Shaw-Smith, with his wife Sally, produced and directed the acclaimed documentary series, Hands, and made over 138 television documentaries during his career.

The aim of the award:

The award is intended to invest in the future of Irish craft and judges are encouraged to consider not only the applicants’ past achievements but their future potential and how they might enrich the Irish design and craft landscape.

The David Shaw-Smith Legacy Award provided the resources for me to develop a new body of work in the studio that explores colour and pattern in blown glass forms. The process of formulating and melting coloured glasses, and then exploring different methods of generating patterns with those glasses, are all based on traditional glassblowing practices that are rarely used in a small studio setting.

Scott Benefield

David Shaw-Smith Legacy Award recipient 2024

Scott continued:

“The result of that work over the course of the past six months is a number of finished pieces that would have been impossible for me to make under other circumstances.”

Scott’s work and progress exploring colour and pattern in blown glass forms since receiving the award.

What does the award comprise?

The David Shaw-Smith Legacy Award has a value of €5,000 and the recipient is awarded an engraved piece created by the previous year’s winner.

Eligibility Criteria:

Applicants must:
- Be registered with DCCI for 5 years or more.
- Be aged 50 years old or older
- Not to have previously received a DCCI bursary
- Not be a current DCCI staff member
- Agree to the Terms and Conditions and Data Protection Policy
- The deadline for receipt of applications is 25 May 2026.