RTÉ radio and television programmes have won four awards at this year's Justice Media Awards.
The awards focus on published works or broadcasts that have helped to inform and educate the public on the role of law in society.
The overall winner was Killian Woods from the Business Post for his series called 'Planning and the Courts - The fallout from the State's bid to tackle judicial reviews of development projects'.
RTÉ’s current affairs programme Prime Time received three awards.
It took home the Broadcast Journalism (TV-Video) category award for 'Lifers’ by Sallyanne Godson, Barry Cummins and Sean Mooney.
The judges said the report "was an informative explainer on the realities of imprisonment in Ireland".
"It offered a balanced discussion looking at prison sentences and featured excellent insights from legal experts. It was an interesting and educational report," they said.
RTÉ News reporter Conor Hunt received a merit certificate for coverage of the Stardust inquests in the same category.
Prime Time also won the Court Reporting (Broadcast) category award for Barry Cummins and Brídóg Ní Bhuachalla’s report entitled ‘Nora’.
The report examined the cold-case murder of Nora Sheehan who was killed in Cork in 1981.
Noel Long, with an address at Maulbawn, Passage West, Co Cork, was found guilty of Ms Sheehan's murder last year.
Sallyanne Godson, Sarah McInerney and Martin Vale (@RTE_PrimeTime) share the Human Rights / Social Justice Reporting (Print / Online) Justice Media Award for their report on 'Surrogacy: An Irish Solution to an International Problem'. #JMA24 pic.twitter.com/e2JJzjL0rZ
— Law Society Ireland (@LawSocIreland) June 20, 2024
The judges said the report "highlighted the advances in forensic science to aid a long-overdue conviction".
"This piece was earmarked for its powerful storytelling. It showed how, even after a substantial amount of time, murders can be solved with new sciences and technologies and justice can still be served," they added.
Its third award was in the Human Rights/Social Rights/Social Justice Reporting (Broadcast) category for ‘Surrogacy: An Irish Solution to an International Problem’.
The report was produced by Sallyanne Godson, Sarah McInerney and Martin Vale and examined concerns that surrogacy laws may lead to 'coercion' of intended parents.
"This was an excellent and emotive investigation into the difficulties facing Irish families with children conceived via surrogacy. It was timely and informative, and highlighted the importance of producing a considered law and protecting human rights in this area," the judges said.
Today with Claire Byrne on RTÉ Radio One picked up the award in the Broadcast Journalism (Radio-National) category for a report on the Children’s Court by Evelyn O’Rourke and Niamh Lyons.
In giving the award, the judges said it "was brilliant reporting which explored the Children Courts system".
"Contributions from the judiciary and court reporting from in-camera proceedings gave a real insight into the experiences of different court-users and underage offenders," they added.
