The top prize was awarded to RTÉ Investigates Law and Disorder, an examination of the District Court across Ireland.
Some 120 of Ireland’s leading journalists gathered at the Law Society of Ireland’s headquarters at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7, with 36 awards and merits presented to the winners.
“The Justice Media Awards are the pride of the Law Society and we believe it is more important than ever to recognise and reward excellence in legal journalism,” said President of the Law Society of Ireland Michael Quinlan.
“Some of the most high profile and controversial news stories over the past year have been directly related to the law. Journalism that promotes a greater public understanding of the law, the legal system and specific legal issues is of immeasurable value and this year’s awards recognize some fine examples.”
Three merit certificates were awarded in the daily print/online journalism category, to Caroline O’Doherty of the Irish Examiner for ‘Backlash to Whiplash: Fraudsters hit hard in ‘compo culture’ crackdown’), Conor Gallagher of the Irish Times (for ‘Women under-represented on juries in serious criminal trials’) and the Irish Independent’s Shane Phelan (for ‘Judges give soft sentences to drivers who kill on roads’).
There were further winners in the Sunday category, local journalism, radio/podcast and TV categories.
Best Headline went to the Irish Examiner’s Niall Murray for ‘Leo Burdock tried to batter Black & Tans’, which the judges described as “a tongue-in-cheek, irreverent yet accurate headline which describes a famous fish-and-chip shop owners’ wartime activities as detailed in his application for a military pension”.