Cork journalist scoops win at Law Society of Ireland justice media awards

CORK journalist Ann Murphy of The Echo has been announced as an award winner at this year’s Law Society of Ireland 2021 Justice Media Awards.

Ms Murphy won the award in the local print/online journalism category for her work on a series of reports examining the drugs questions that should be asked by the Citizens Assembly.

Judges said that the experienced journalist “has already started considering the questions that are not yet being asked at a national level”.

Ms Murphy was one of the 39 award and merits winners across 12 different categories which were announced during the online awards ceremony held on Thursday.

The top award was presented to Mark Horgan and Ciarán Cassidy for their Second Captains production for BBC Sounds, ‘Where is George Gibney?’ This podcast series was selected from 200 entries, received from over 130 journalists, to win the overall award.

President of the Law Society of Ireland, James Cahill, said, “It is critically important to continue to recognise, reward and support excellence in legal journalism. Journalism that promotes a greater public understanding of the law, the legal system and specific legal issues is of immense value and this year’s awards recognise great examples.

“Often at these awards, certain themes become apparent and outstanding cases are highlighted. This year, many of our entries focused on giving a voice to the victims of crime and letting them share their story in their own words. This theme is strongly reflected by our overall award winner this year,” he said.

He said that there was also a “strong focus” on making the law accessible for ordinary citizens who are impacted by the law every day, which he described as “legal journalism at its finest”.