The Echo wins big at Local Ireland awards ceremony

The Echo/EchoLive.ie has scooped three awards at this year’s Local Ireland Media Awards, which took place at Mullingar Park Hotel on Thursday.

Donal O’Keeffe won an award for Best News Series for his series on “shocking conditions for Council tenants in Cork city”.

Timothy O’Mahony won the National Lottery Best Community Journalist award, and Kate Ryan won the Best Sustainability Journalist award.

President of Local Ireland and the head of Irish Times Regionals, Dan Linehan, said: “This was our ninth awards and the seventh sponsored by the National Lottery.

“It was a great event and I want to thank the judges for all their work and the National Lottery for their support, which has been invaluable.

“We had nearly 600 entries and the standard of journalism was first class.”

The Echo/EchoLive.ie was also nominated under the following award categories: Best Diversity Journalist, Feature Journalist of the Year, Best Supplement, and Columnist of the Year.

Concubhar Ó Liatháin was nominated under the Best Diversity Journalist category for his piece entitled “Harassment is forcing women out of public life”.

Aisling Meath was nominated under the Feature Journalist of the Year award for her series “Women of the Islands”, and the Downtown Cork Jazz Festival supplement was nominated under the Best Supplement category.

Chair of the judges, Alison O’Connor questioned where local communities would be without the efforts made in newsrooms all over the country. “These awards are about recognising the very best of what local newspapers do,” she said.

Executive director of Local Ireland Bob Hughes said it is hoped that more categories will be introduced for next year.