JOURNALISM students at the University of Limerick (UL) made a clean sweep of nominations at this year’s National Student Media Awards (SMEDIA).
The high-achieving students set a high bar, receiving a record-breaking 16 nominations.
UL’s Limerick Voice student publication leads the success with nominations including Best Newspaper, Best Layout and Design, and Best Digital Interactive Experience. It is produced by final-year students under the tutelage of Professor Kathryn Hayes.
The university’s Unraveled magazine, produced by second-year students, received the nod for Magazine of the Year.
A number of UL journalism students are also shortlisted for top individual awards including third-year student Dearbhla Parry, who was nominated as Journalist of the Year.
The Sports Writer of the Year category features two UL journalism students, Andrew Moynihan and Chris Benn, who was shortlisted for his investigative piece on drug testing in Irish rugby.
Limerick Voice editor Conor Curran was nominated in the Editor of the Year category, with online editor Aisling Kavanagh nominated in the Best Interactive Digital Experience category.
Siobhan Rogan, Shauna O’Mahoney, and Jennifer Keating have been nominated for Journalism Relating to Health, while Olivia O’Dwyer and Marina Sánchez Díaz were nominated for Collaborative Journalism of the Year.
Abigail Hayden and Imogen Cotter were nominated for The Joe Drennan Award for Journalism Relating to Road Safety – named for the late UL student, who himself served as editor of the Limerick Voice.
James Organ was nominated in the Journalism Relating to the Environment category, while Sadhbh Edwards Murphy, Imogen Cotter, and Jakob Peer were nominated for Radio Production of the Year – Arts and Pop Culture. Maddox Nunn was nominated for Photographer of the Year.
The 26th edition of the SMEDIAs is set to take place this Wednesday (April 29) at the Clayton Burlington Hotel in Dublin. The awards the largest of their kind in Ireland dedicated to recognising the next generation of media talent in Ireland.
“It’s great to see so many nominations for students across our journalism programme in UL from second year right up to final year. Our students are already being recognised by national media industry figures who are involved in the judging process for the SMEDIAS so this is a wonderful validation, particularly for those entering the world of work in the coming weeks,” said Kathryn Hayes, Associate Professor BA Journalism and Digital Communication.