Mary Raftery Prize – 2020 Prize Winner Announced
The Mary Raftery Prize is awarded annually to an individual or small team responsible for social affairs journalism produced on the island of Ireland in the calendar year preceding the award which, in the view of the judges, combined the rigorous analysis and commitment to social justice that characterised Mary Raftery’s journalism, and resulted in a significant impact on society.
The 2020 Prize has been awarded to:
“Speak or Survive: Sexual Violence Victims Still Fighting Roadblocks to Justice” – noteworthy.ie – Peter McGuire
In assessing the winning entry, the judges – Professor Mary Corcoran, Maynooth University, Pat Brennan (formerly of The Sunday Tribune), and Maeve Lewis (One in Four) described “Speak or Survive” as a very balanced, nuanced, blend of personal experience and policy analysis that spoke to the heart of an important matter of public importance.
Administered by the School of Communications, Dublin City University, the Prize is funded by a bequest from the Mary Raftery Journalism Fund and is sponsored by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
Commenting on the Prize announcement, chair of the judging panel, Dr Mark O’Brien, Head of the School of Communications at Dublin City University (DCU), said: “The quality of the entries made choosing an overall winner difficult, and that all the entries indicated a healthy public desire for talking about and resolving significant social issues.”
BAI Chief Executive Celene Craig said: “The BAI was delighted to once again sponsor the Mary Raftery Prize. The Prize continues to illustrate the commitment of those involved in social affairs journalism and the high level of quality and analytical skill they bring to projects that address social issues affecting society. Congratulations to the winner and indeed all the nominees for their achievement.”
The other shortlisted nominees for the 2020 Prize were:
- “Redress: Breaking the Silence” – RTÉ – Máire Kearney, Mick Peelo, & Sheila Ahern
- “Migrant Women & Domestic Violence” – Dublin Inquirer – Shamim Malekmian
- “Rough Sleepers in the Capital Refused Beds Because They’re Not From Dublin” – Dublin Inquirer – Laoise Neylon
- “Reaping the Harvest” – noteworthy.ie – Niall Sargent
A call for nominations for the 2021 Prize will issue shortly.
About Mary Raftery
Mary Raftery was a fearless and passionate woman whose insatiable curiosity resulted in some of the most ground-breaking investigative journalism in Irish broadcasting. She was perhaps best remembered for her ground-breaking documentary series States of Fear in 1999 which exposed the many abuses perpetrated in religious-run industrial schools around the country. To mark the 20th anniversary of the series in April 2019, DCU launched a major exhibition of Mary Raftery's work and in conjunction with the Raftery family and the BAI, a new journalism award was established to ensure the legacy of social justice journalism.