Coláiste’s budding reporters win at national youth journalism awards

Two Transition Year ( TY) students from Coláiste an Chraoibhín in Fermoy have scooped first prizes at a national youth journalism

awards ceremony.

Cian Morrison won first place in the news reporting category at the Newsbrands Ireland Press Pass TY journalism awards for his balanced and comprehensive report on the protests against asylum seekers which took place at St Joseph’s Convent in Fermoy throughout last winter and into early spring.

Meanwhile, Cian’s schoolmate Ellysa Thornhill took first prize in the opinion writing category for tackling the issue of transgender healthcare in Ireland with a searing first-person account of the obstacles faced by young trans people in accessing hormone treatments and surgeries.

“Further investigation pushed me towards the shocking realisation of how abysmal the system is,” Ellysa wrote in an article titled ‘Ireland Worst in EU for Transgender Healthcare’.

“My own experience with Transgender Healthcare in this country has been difficult to say the least. However, I never believed that it was as bad as the living nightmare it currently is. In January of 2021, the entire healthcare system for transgender minors completely collapsed and there are still no signs of its return. The provision of healthcare for young people isn’t even the worst of it. Once you turn 17, you can register to be seen by the National Gender Service also known as the NGS. This service may seem like a dream come through, the last ray of sunlight permeating the thick depths of an ocean of dysphoria however, this ‘dream’ is much more of a nightmare.”

Both Fermoy area students were presented with their category awards, alongside other winners in categories including sports journalism, photojournalism and best student publication, at an awards ceremony in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium last week. Matt Cooper from Today FM was the MC and Media Minister Catherine Martin was also present.

Press Pass is a Transition Year news literacy and student journalism programme run by newspaper representative body, Newsbrands Ireland. It has been running since 2012 and over 120,000 students have taken part.

Photography) (Photo: Paul Sherwood Transition Year Coláiste an Chraoibhín student, Cian Morrison won first prize in the news category for his comprehensive coverage of the anti-asylum-seeker protests that have taken place at St Joseph’s in Fermoy.

Paul Sherwood Photography) (Photo: Transition Year Coláiste an Chraoibhín student Ellysa Thornhill won first place at the 2023 Press Pass TY journalism awards for an opinion piece about trans healthcare services in Ireland.