Irish Times journalist Ruadhán MacCormaic has been jointly awarded the Law Society's Justice media award in the daily newspapers category. He received the award, accompanied by a specially-commissioned Dublin crystal trophy and a cheque for €750, for his series, The Coroner's Court.
At the award ceremony at the society's headquarters in Blackhall Place, Dublin, on Friday, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell spoke of the interdependence of the media, politicians and the legal profession.
He compared politicians to "wildebeests" and the media to "hyenas". He said when wildebeests stick together, they keep the hyenas at bay. But if one of the wildebeests falls behind, the hyenas circle. Mr McDowell said under the Constitution, the press is defined as educating and informing the public and urged the media to remember their responsibility and to keep away from the quick headline.
He said the appointment of Irish Times journalist Carol Coulter as family law reporter by the Courts Service was crucially important and urged the legal profession to assist in the project.
In their citation, the judges said that Mr MacCormaic had broken new ground with his series, which examined the Coroner's Court as an institution. "Ruadhán's articles inspired other media outlets to follow suit. The reaction in political circles has been swift," it stated.
The awards, whose aims include the fostering of greater public understanding of the law, the legal system or any specific legal issue, are celebrating their 15th anniversary this year.
The overall winners were RTÉ's Mary Wilson (reporter) and Tanya Sillem (producer) for their one-hour Prime Time special report, Pádraig Nally. Noel Baker of the Irish Examiner shared the award in the daily newspaper category with Mr MacCormaic for his four-part series, Juvenile Justice.
Other winners were Enda Leahy of the Sunday Times, and John Murray and Cian McCormack of RTÉ's Morning Ireland.