Three Local Ireland Media Awards nominations for the Tipperary Star and The Nationalist

Nominations for this year’s Local Ireland Media Awards have been announced following a record number of entries and the Tipperary Star and The Nationalist are nominated for three prestigious awards.

More than 700 entries were made for this year’s awards which introduced two new categories for Political Coverage of the Year and Young Journalist of the Year.

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Regional Editor for Tipperary and Digital Development Director for Iconic Media Group, Darren Hassett, is nominated for the “Columnist of the Year Award”.

The Nationalist has been nominated for “Best Use of Photography” for its front page following the Local Elections in 2024 and the front page: “Máirín Reaches New Heights”, with a stunning picture taken by Eamonn McGee.

The Tipperary Star has been nominated for an award in the “Best Headline” category for its “Bullet of a Shot” headline after a soccer player got accidentally shot in Rearcross by a stray bullet from a deer hunter’s gun.

In total, Iconic Media Group has received eleven nominations. Reacting to the news of the Tipperary nominations, Darren Hassett said: “This is a team effort with incredible journalists in the Clonmel and Thurles offices, alongside a network of photographers and community correspondents who send us their photos and news from across the county. The papers are going from strength to strength and digitally we are breaking all the records. With the senior hurlers winning the 2025 All-Ireland Final, these nominations are the cherry on top of a great summer in the Premier County! Up Tipp!”

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The awards are now in their tenth year with its headline sponsors the National Lottery on board for the eighth time. This year’s awards have also received support from Coimisiún na Meán.

Jennifer Crowe, Head of Corporate Affairs for the National Lottery, said: “Through the lens of local journalism, we see the heart of our society, people coming together, overcoming challenges, and making a difference. It’s an honour to help recognise these powerful community stories.”

Nineteen categories reflecting the best of journalism, photography, design, digital initiatives and sales creativity are part of the judging process.

Chair of the judges, author, journalist and broadcaster Alison O’Connor said: “These awards highlight the excellence and diversity of local journalism. Picking winners in the different categories is always a challenging task for the judges – from the sharpness of the news stories to the well-crafted features, interviews and columns. All told, the standard shows how well communities around the country are served by their local newspapers.”

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Joining Ms O’Connor on the judging panel are broadcaster and journalist Dearbhail McDonald, Emeritus Professor at TUD Michael Foley, Dawn Wheatley of DCU School of Communications, Managing Director of Kinetic Ireland Andrew Sinclair, photographer and former Irish Times Picture Editor Frank Miller, broadcaster and writer Valerie Cox, journalist and author PJ Cunningham, novelist and newspaper columnist Dr Martina Devlin, Policy Editor of the Business Post Daniel Murray, RTÉ journalist and presenter Katie Hannon, Deputy Night Editor of the Irish Sun Gerry McCarthy and DCU lecturer Conor Tiernan.

Winners of the awards will be announced at a gala dinner at the Mullingar Park Hotel on September 11.

Host for the evening will be RTÉ and Lyric FM presenter Marty Whelan.

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