LIMERICK took home a total of five awards at the recent National Student Media Awards, also known as the Smedias.
University of Limerick led the way with three awards, taking home the honours of Newspaper of the Year and Design and Layout of the Year for the Limerick Voice, as well as the Journalism Relating to Health prize for Gemma Good and her piece about the Limerick Treaty Suicide Prevention group.
Presenting the award of Newspaper of the Year to the Limerick Voice team, Mark Hennessy, Ireland and Britain Editor of The Irish Times, commended the UL journalism students for their “determined efforts to report the community around them”.
A special tribute was paid on the night to late Limerick Voice editor Joe Drennan, who was killed in a hit and run in October last year.
An award category has now been named in his honour, the Joe Drennan Award for Journalism relating to Road Safety.
Dr Kathryn Hayes, associate professor and course director the BA in Journalism and Digital Communication at UL said: “I couldn’t be prouder of our journalism students. To be so successful at The Smedias after such a hard year is a tribute to their resilience.”
“Their work on Limerick Voice shows their ability to work through extremely difficult circumstances to produce award-winning journalism. Joe Drennan would be so proud,” Professor Hayes said.
Limerick College of Further Education (LCFE) also took home two awards on the night.
Jake Rowat won News Photographer of the Year, while Photographer of the Year went to Celine Mermier.
Jake said winning the award “was a huge shock”.
“I’m just happy that I was in the company of so many great peers and mentors who have provided me with so much inspiration over this past year.”
Photographer of the Year Celine Mermier said that “receiving such a prestigious award was an incredible moment that came at the end of my two years of work at the college. I see it as an encouragement to always surpass myself. I still don’t believe it.”
