IMAGE Summer 2026 hits shelves Saturday, June 6, and editor Lauren Heskin is here to highlight the best of what’s inside the new issue.
Looking through the archives of IMAGE Magazine and putting together this year’s 50th birthday issues, I’ve been struck over and over again by the strength and resilience of women. From those who write and photograph these pages, to the team who celebrates them at the IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards, to the many magnificent women who have graced our pages through the decades, it’s really something to behold.
For this issue I perused issues from the mid-1980s (see the feature from page 74), and it is evident from the range of features just how fine a tightrope women walked during this era. From the pressures of an intense dieting culture and struggling with a health system turning a blind eye to women’s health issues, to those re-entering the working and dating spheres following the end of a relationship, and others trying to find time for family and work in a very unaccommodating culture, there is so much to unpack.
Sadly, some of those issues remain, or have simply taken on a different guise, but the acumen of women continues to survive the odds. Roe McDermott speaks to barrister Lisa Wilkinson about a new campaign tackling the silence surrounding coercive control and domestic abuse, even after women have decided to leave, from page 105.
Disabled women tell Jennifer McShane about their experiences receiving gynaecological care in Ireland and what needs to change for it to be accessible for all (page 132).
There are plenty more who inspire too, from two friends who spotted a gap in the market and set up their own jewellery business (page 43) and the sisters breathing fresh life into their mother’s fashion boutique in Killarney (page 71), to women returning to the workforce after taking leave (page 83). From page 91, we meet the winners of the IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards, including charity founders, family business owners, high-level executives, and CEOs. Meanwhile, on page 154, Cliodhna Prendergast visits Tory Hill, where three generations of women run an organic dairy farm in Co Limerick.
Elsewhere, summer has finally landed on our doorstep (at least, at the time of printing it has!) and the combination of fine weather and incredible women has us feeling bolder and braver. Megan Burns convinces us to get painterly in our wardrobes with primary colours on page 30, while Suzie Coen investigates the dopamine hit of a pattern-clashing outfit, on page 36, and Sinéad Keenan gets giddy about the return of the Chloé girl aesthetic (page 26), using it as the jumping off point for our summer fashion shoot (from page 44).
And finally, as vacation season approaches, on page 169, Édaein O’Connell suggests you stop holding off on that big trip and just book it. “Life is the special occasion, you are the special occasion,” she writes. Holly O’Neill and Megan Burns pack your holiday bags on page 126, whether you’ve got plans to hit a city hotspot, a hiking trail or a sandy beach, and Michelle Hanley grabs a board and heads to Ireland’s surf spots, from page 163.
Enjoy the issue,
Find IMAGE Summer 2026 in stores, or click here to buy online.
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