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Two Irish Times journalists win UCD Smurfit School awards

Mark Paul won the economic commentator prize while columnist Karlin Lillington received the Outstanding Achievement Award for her contribution to business journalism

Karlin Lillington, third from left, receving her Oustanding Achievement Award from Breege O’Donoghue, chair of the Business Journalism Awards judging panel, John O’Beirne from Bank of Ireland and Prof Geradine Doyle, director of the UCD Smurfit Business School at the Business Journalism Awards in the Westbury Hotel, Dublin. Photograph: Aidan Crawley/For The Irish Times
Karlin Lillington, third from left, receving her Oustanding Achievement Award from Breege O’Donoghue, chair of the Business Journalism Awards judging panel, John O’Beirne from Bank of Ireland and Prof Geradine Doyle, director of the UCD Smurfit Business School at the Business Journalism Awards in the Westbury Hotel, Dublin. Photograph: Aidan Crawley/For The Irish Times
Mon Dec 02 2019 - 18:47

Two journalists from The Irish Times were honoured yesterday at the UCD Smurfit School Business Journalist Awards for 2019.

Business Affairs Correspondent Mark Paul won the economic commentator/business analyst award for his two submissions: Primark shows a consumer paradox, and After 15 years of marriage to Google, is it still as good for us as it is for them?

In addition, the Outstanding Achievement Award was presented to Irish Times columnist Karlin Lillington for her contribution to business journalism over three decades.

In 2014, the Courts of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) struck down an EU directive on data retention, based largely on her coverage of the issue in The Irish Times from 2005.

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From her reporting, Digital Rights Ireland took a case in the Irish High Court in 2007, which was then referred by the High Court to the ECJ. It was a landmark case, and assertion by the ECJ of overreach by the EU when it comes to citizens’ rights.

Fiona Reddan of The Irish Times was shortlisted for the economic commentator/business analyst award.

Excellence

The annual awards recognise excellence in business journalism - in print, broadcast and online formats - and were sponsored by Bank of Ireland and run in conjunction with the Business Journalists Association of Ireland.

Commenting on the awards, Prof Anthony Brabazon, the Dean of the UCD College of Business, said: “Now in its 13th year, the Business Journalist Awards remain an important initiative for UCD Smurfit School as we seek to acknowledge the very best of business journalism, work which enriches the public’s understanding of critical issues of the day and how they impact business and society.

“We would especially like to acknowledge the contributions of our Outstanding Achievement Award nominee Karlin Lillington. Her tenacious pursuit of data protection rights inevitably weaves into the world of business, ethics and society. We applaud her work with Digital Rights Ireland and Frontline Defenders as she fearlessly stands against online harm, hate speech and electoral interference. “

The independent panel of judges for the awards was chaired by Breege O’Donoghue, a senior executive for many years with retailer Penneys/Primark.