Westmeath Independent feature shortlisted for Mary Raftery journalism prize

A Westmeath Independent reporter has been shortlisted for the prestigious Mary Raftery Prize for 2019.

Geraldine Grennan joins other nominees from the likes of the RTÉ Investigations Unit and The Irish Times on the coveted shortlist.

The Mary Raftery Prize is awarded annually to an individual or small team responsible for significant social affairs journalism on the island of Ireland

Geraldine Grennan's three-part series published in the Westmeath Independent entitled Spotlight on Domestic Violence was included in the eight-strong list published last week.

The award remembers the late Mary Raftery, a pioneering journalist who worked across the media sector, but is perhaps best know for her producing the television series States of Fear and Cardinal Secrets.

The prize recognises journalism that combines the rigorous analysis and commitment to social justice that characterised Mary Raftery’s journalism, and resulted in a significant impact on society.

The prize consists of a medal engraved with the winner’s name and an award of €1,000.

The full shortlist is comprised of: “Crechés: Behind Closed Doors” – RTÉ Investigations Unit (Doireann O’Hara, Aoife Hegarty and Paul Maguire); “No Child 2020” –The Irish Times (Ruadhán Mac Cormaic, Fintan O’Toole, Kitty Holland, Conor Goodman); “The case of Majella Moynihan” –RTÉ Documentary on One (Aoife Kelleher, Sarah Blake and Liam O’Brien); “Spotlight on Domestic Violence” – Westmeath Independent (Geraldine Grennan); “Stardust” – jourmal.ie (Sean Murray, Nicky Ryan and Christine Bohan); "Enough is Enough-No Excuses" and "Open Your Eyes to STIs" – Beat 102 103 (Michelle Heffernan); “A Bridge Too far” – jourmal.ie / noteworthy.ie (Maria Delaney and Ken Foxe) and “Homelessness” – The Irish Times (Kitty Holland)

The winner of the prize will be announced at an online event before the end of the year.

The prize is funded by a bequest from the Mary Raftery Journalism Fund and is sponsored by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

It is administered by the School of Communications, Dublin City University which appoints an independent panel of judges composed of experienced and distinguished figures from journalism and civic society. The judges for the 2019 Prize were Prof. Mary Corcoran, Maynooth University; Pat Brennan (formerly of The Sunday Tribune) and Andy Pollak (former editor of Fortnight).

Paying tribute to his colleague, Geraldine for her work, Westmeath Independent editor Tadhg Carey said: “We are both thrilled and immensely proud that our journalism has been recognised by its inclusion on this shortlist.”