OUR WINNING WOMEN TAKE HOME JOURNALISM AWARDS
THREE of our f emale journalists have won in the N ewsBrands Ireland Journalism Awards 2020.
Linda Maher won Columnist of the Year (Popular) after she was nominated alongside Mail writers Lisa Brady and Niamh Walsh.
Linda’s opinion pieces on Covid-19 restrictions, such as the ‘cruel and unnecessary’ funeral restrictions, earned her the first prize.
Maeve Quigley, a feature writer with the Irish Daily Mail, won Features Writer (Popular) for her pieces, including an interview with comedian Sil Fox about his ordeal of facing false sexual assault charges.
T he awards j udges described her as ‘on top of her game with each of the pieces she submitted’.
Also nominated in Maeve’s winning category was fellow Mail writer Jenny Friel.
This was the second award
Linda Maher Popular Columnist of the Year
in 24 hours for Maeve. On Tuesday night, she won the Irish Cancer Society award for Excellence in Lung Cancer Journalism.
The Irish Mail on Sunday’s Claire Scott won Young Journalist of the Year for her front-page story about the confirmation of the first Covid-19 cases in Ireland, among others.
Irish Daily Mail Editor Eddie Coffey said: ‘I’m really delighted that the Mail’s
Maeve Quigley Popular Features Writer
exceptional journalism has been acknowledged with these awards – and indeed by those others who were nominated across various categories.
‘Not only have the winners exposed their own brilliance with pen in hand but also the design team, photographers, subeditors and management who back our great team of writers.
‘Linda captured the Covid era brilliantly from the
Claire Scott Young Journalist of the Year
heartbreak of the 2020 funeral to the trouble facing pub patrons.
‘Maeve’s body of work exposed her versatility across a range of topics and included a searing interview with Sil Fox... The future of journalism in the Mail group is also looking good with the Mail on Sunday’s Claire Scott winning the Young Journalist award for her great scoop on Ireland’s first Covid victim.’