Irish Times journalists were among those honoured by the Law Society of Ireland for work focused primarily on the legal environment at Thursday’s Justice Media Awards.
Sorcha Pollak and Kathleen Harris were together recognised for their work on “From Syria to Wicklow: A Desperate Family, an Irish Welcome”, a report following a family’s escape from war to their eventual resettlement in Wicklow. The judging panel said it allowed the reader to “come away with a deeper understanding of the life of a refugee”.
Separately, Harris’s video documentary “The Eighth: Ireland’s Battle Over Abortion” was described as a “standout piece among the vast sea of coverage generated before, during and after the referendum”.
Crime correspondent Conor Gallagher’s “Inside Court 12: The Complete Story of the Belfast Rape Trial” describing the case against several high profile rugby players was considered by the judges to be “richly descriptive writing [detailing] the key points of contention in the case, the legal strategies involved, as well as examining what was happening outside the courtroom.”
Another of Mr Gallagher’s pieces “Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System” was also awarded a certificate.
Meanwhile, the top prize was awarded to BBC Northern Ireland, for their Spotlight investigation, “When is Sex Rape?”