THE Clare Champion has received a total of four nominations in the 9th Local Ireland Media Awards. The hotly contested awards showcase excellence in journalism and the achievements of Ireland’s local news publishers and their staff.
The ‘Champion has been nominated across a range of categories with the winners set to be announced at a gala event this September.
Dan Danaher has been shortlisted in the ‘Best News Series’ category for his highlighting of the impact UHL overcrowding has had on patients. Photographer John Kelly has been nominated for a gong in the ‘Best Photograph’ category for his image titled ‘Back Down from the Big Schmoke’.
In the ‘National Lottery Best Community Journalist’ Jessica Quinn is nominated for her story ‘Knitting the World Back Together’ outlining the efforts of a group of local volunteers to raise money for charity while also helping divert unwanted knitted goods from landfill.
While Fiona McGarry’s story on the local Pyrite campaign’s success after a three year struggle, written during her time at the ‘Champion, has earned her a nomination in the category of ‘Best News Story’.
This year’s awards will be sponsored for the seventh consecutive year by the National Lottery.
President of Local Ireland and Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan said, “We have had nearly 600 entries for the awards which underlines the quality and excellence of our local newspapers and their digital and online platforms.
“I want to thank the National Lottery for their sponsorship of the awards and their commitment to supporting local journalism, which is at the heart of communities across Ireland.”
National Lottery CEO Cian Murphy said, “We are incredibly proud of our continued association with the Local Ireland Media Awards that recognise the top-class journalists and media professionals who tirelessly serve our local communities.
“We are also very excited to host the Best Community Journalist category, a category that aligns with our own core values of generosity in community spirit and recognises the impact of communities working together to make a real and tangible difference”.
The judges for the awards include author and broadcaster Alison O’Connor, who is chairing the panel, broadcaster and journalist Dearbhail McDonald, Emeritus Professor at TUD Michael Foley, Dawn Wheatley of DCU School of Communications, Managing Director of Kinetic Ireland Andrew Sinclair, photographer and former Irish Times Picture Editor Frank Miller, broadcaster and writer Valerie Cox, journalist and author PJ Cunningham, novelist and newspaper columnist Dr Martina Devlin, Policy Editor of the Business Post Daniel Murray and Deputy Night Editor of the Irish Sun Gerry McCarthy.
The award winners will be announced at a gala event at the Mullingar Park Hotel on Thursday September 19. The evening will be hosted by RTÉ presenter and Eurovision guru Marty Whelan.