Investigative reporter Conor Gallagher was among those as The Irish Times won eight prizes at the Irish Journalism Awards in Dublin amid ongoing commercial and legal pressures facing news publishers.
- The Irish Times collected eight prizes at the Dublin ceremony, recognizing investment in high-value investigations and foreign coverage.
- Conor Gallagher won the Investigative Journalism category for tracing Limerick refinery alumina into Russia’s weapons supply chain.
- NewsBrands Ireland chief executive Ann Marie Lenihan emphasized that a strong independent news industry requires long-term publisher commitment.
Gallagher secured his win for painstaking investigative work examining how alumina from a Limerick refinery enters Russia’s weapons supply chain, The Irish Times reported. Hannah McCarthy won the Foreign Coverage category for reporting from countries including Cuba, Palestine, and Guatemala.
“It takes significant investment, skilled people and a long-term commitment from publishers to produce original journalism that serves the public interest,” Ann Marie Lenihan, chief executive of NewsBrands Ireland, told the event.
Fintan O’Toole took the Columnist of the Year prize. Judges recognized his analysis of the fuel protest movement and his reporting on the Rotunda Hospital disregarding government policy on private medicine in public hospitals.
Mark Paul won Features Journalist of the Year, which included an interview with a 100-year-old man in London. The Ticket was named Magazine of the Year, with the award accepted by culture editor Liam Stebbing, books editor Martin Doyle, and production editor John Lane.
Philip Watson won Arts Journalist and Critic of the Year. The paper’s immersive storytelling team, represented by Gallagher, Paddy Logue, and Rachel Lavin, won in the Digital Innovation category. Malachy Clerkin was named the Broadsheet Sports Journalist of the Year for work including interviews with Kellie Harrington and Ciara Mageean.
Fionnán Sheahan of The Irish Independent was named Journalist of the Year, also winning in the political reporting and scoop categories. The Irish Farmers’ Journal won for video journalism, while the Sunday Independent’s Niamh Horan and the Irish Mail on Sunday’s Michael O’Farrell won for showbiz and business journalism.
“The eight awards are a pleasing affirmation of The Irish Times’s pre-eminent place in Irish journalism,” said Ruadhán Mac Cormaic, Editor of The Irish Times.
Press Ombudsman Susan McKay addressed the event regarding the dangers journalists face in warzones. She criticized Israel over the high death toll among Palestinian journalists.
| Category | Winner | Publication |
|---|---|---|
| Investigative Journalism | Conor Gallagher | The Irish Times |
| Columnist of the Year | Fintan O’Toole | The Irish Times |
| Foreign Coverage | Hannah McCarthy | The Irish Times |
| Journalist of the Year | Fionnán Sheahan | The Irish Independent |
“A strong, independent news publishing industry is essential to a healthy democracy,” Lenihan said.
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