The Connacht Tribune Group is celebrating its seven shortlisted entries, vying for honours at this year’s Local Ireland Media Awards, after nominations were announced last week following a record number of more than 700 entries.

The Tribune is in contention on a number of fronts – journalism and advertising – with Dara Bradley and Denise McNamara nominated for reporting awards, and the Connacht Tribune itself shortlisted for Best Headline for its local election front page headline Gaillimh Ogbú! and for Best Front Page for the story headlined Bringing water to an island.

Our Where West supplement – produced in conjunction with our colleagues in the Clare Champion – was nominated for Best Supplement, and the Tribune was also shortlisted for Best Local Advertisement for the Galway Bay Resort.

Dara Bradley was nominated in the Best Sustainability Journalist category for his Connacht Tribune story headlined ‘Fish Farm Escape’. And Denise McNamara was nominated for Best News Series for her Galway City Tribune story, headlined Sitting in traffic for ‘four days a year’.

And regular Connacht Tribune contributors Elizabeth Garner and Jim Hynes were nominated in the Best Diversity Journalist section for their feature headlined People power helps to keep Ukrainians in the community.

Nineteen categories reflecting the best of journalism, photography, design, digital initiatives and sales creativity are part of the judging process – and a special award for Lifetime Achievement is also made on behalf of the members of Local Ireland.

Chair of the judges, author, journalist and broadcaster Alison O’Connor said that the awards highlighted ‘the excellence and diversity of local journalism’.

“Picking winners in the different categories is always a challenging task for the judges – from the sharpness of the news stories to the well-crafted features, interviews and columns,” she said.

“All told, the standard shows how well communities around the country are served by their local newspapers,” she added.

The awards are now in their tenth year with its headline sponsors the National Lottery on board for the eighth time. This year’s awards have also received support from Coimisiún na Meán.

President of Local Ireland and Managing Director of the Southern Star Seán Mahon highlighted the ‘record entries again from talented journalist, digital and commercial local newspaper personnel across Ireland’, which, he said, went to show ‘how people in our industry view the prestige associated with winning a category’.

“Through the lens of local journalism, we see the heart of our society, people coming together, overcoming challenges, and making a difference. It’s an honour to help recognise these powerful community stories,” added Jennifer Crowe, Head of Corporate Affairs for the National Lottery.

And Media Development Commissioner Rónán Ó’Domnhaill said that Coimisiún na Meán, which prioritised the availability of high-quality journalism, was delighted to support the upcoming Local Ireland Media Awards, ‘to recognise the talent and commitment of local newspapers and their work supporting and informing local communities’.

“We believe access to good quality and trustworthy news for all citizens is critical for a well-functioning society and so far, our journalism schemes have funded almost €2.2 million to Local Ireland members across the country. Coimisiún na Meán will continue to support the sector with the announcement of further journalism schemes later this year,” he said.

The winners of the awards will be announced at a gala dinner at the Mullingar Park Hotel on September 11. Host for the evening will be RTÉ and Lyric FM presenter Marty Whelan.

Pictured: President of Local Ireland Seán Mahon; Media Development Manager for Coimisiún na Meán Mairéad Nic Gabhann; Judges’ Chair Alison O’Connor, and National Lottery Head of Corporate Affairs Jennifer Crowe at the launch of this year’s shortlists for the Local Ireland Media Awards.