LOCAL IRELAND MEDIA AWARDS LAUNCHED

Local Ireland, the association which represents local news publishers across Ireland, has launched its tenth annual awards.
Entries are being invited for a record 19 competitive categories, including new awards for Young Journalist of the Year and Political Coverage of the Year.

This year’s awards will be the eighth to be sponsored by the National Lottery, which has its own award for Best Community Journalist.

President of Local Ireland and Managing Director of the Southern Star, Seán Mahon, said:

“I’m delighted that we are adding two new categories to the awards this year – the Young Journalist of the Year Award will recognise the strength in depth of talent within local news publishers, and the Political Coverage of the Year award underlines the great work that we do in covering local politics.
I want to thank the National Lottery for their continuing support as our headline sponsor, which has helped us grow and evolve these awards that recognize the important work that our journalists do week in and week out.”

Jennifer Crowe, Head of Corporate Affairs at the National Lottery, added:

“Local media plays a vital role in informing, inspiring and empowering people through powerful storytelling that reflects the heart of our society.
We are immensely proud of our ongoing partnership with the Local Ireland Media Awards, which honour outstanding journalists and media professionals who bring to light the stories that might otherwise go unheard—stories that shape our communities.”

This year’s Awards Ceremony will take place on September 11 at the Mullingar Park Hotel, hosted by RTÉ Lyric FM presenter Marty Whelan.

Chair of the Judging Panel, author and journalist Alison O’Connor, said:

“Each year the entries reflect the very high standard of work done by journalists in regional newspapers all over the country. It is an honour to chair the judging panel.”

The 2025 panel includes new judges Katie Hannon (RTÉ Upfront) and Conor Tiernan (DCU), as well as: