Anton Savage opens the awards

Sarah Stack, MHMA 2021 Judge, spoke about the exceptional standard of content this year across all categories and all forms of media. The content was diverse and ranged from engaging interviews with people who have experienced mental ill health through to meticulously researched exposés of Ireland’s mental health system. The judges felt the content as a whole was raw, engaging and provocative, while at the same time being strong, fair and thorough.

This year’s Mental Health Content – Digital Award went to A Lust for Life for their interactive Instagram Live on the topic of ‘Intrusive Thoughts’. This piece featured Zach and Mairéad bravely sharing their experiences with OCD, an illness that is still frequently misunderstood and quite heavily stigmatised. Their clear-spoken stories of hope and recovery could help both those living with this illness and others who want to learn about it. The approach taken here – a live session with real-time input from people watching – was engaging, highly interactive and refreshing, and it hugely impressed the judges who felt it was an excellent use of the platform and available technology.  

Fiona McGarry of the Clare Champion won the Local Print and Online Award for her report, ‘Letting a light shine for fellow survivors’. The judges felt that this honest, heartfelt and compelling piece gave an invaluable insight into the real impact of sexual violence and rape on a person’s mental health. It explored Martin’s progression through various supports, toward his own recovery, and in a way that will be informative, hopeful and destigmatising for others. The Clare Champion were commendable in providing a voice to Martin originally some years ago, and have diligently returned to his experiences in this piece, to allow him to ‘shine his light’ once again.  

The winner of the Mental Health Broadcasting – Short Form Award was PJ Coogan for Cork’s 96FM for an episode of Opinion Line entitled Owenacurra residents devastated by proposed closure which focused on the closing of a local mental health service and its impact on the community. The judges commented that this piece was a strong human-interest story which gave long term health care residents a voice, respecting how they felt and what they wanted. They felt it really tried to understand why this facility was closing and was well told from point of view of the patients, their family members and staff.

The Voice Media Award category was developed and judged in collaboration with See Change – The National Stigma Reduction Partnership. It recognises the coverage that a broadcaster or publication has given to those with self-experience of a mental health difficulty. The winner of this category was The Pat Kenny Show. The judges for this award felt that the team at The Pat Kenny Show worked collaboratively with people who wanted to share their stories of mental ill health, and that they did this with genuine care and support for each of them.

The Headline Special Recognition Award was created to acknowledge the vital contribution that people with lived experience make to media representations of mental health difficulties. Without them, many of these stories couldn’t be told. For sharing her unique perspective on the difficulty of accessing Irish mental health services as a Deaf woman, the winner of this award was Karen Sinnott for her interview, ‘A Voice in the Dark’ featured in New Ross Standard. The judges felt that Karen Sinnott showed great strength and bravery in sharing her powerful story and commented that it had given them a whole new perspective on the extra challenges that come with accessing mental health services in Ireland as a Deaf person. All of the judges were profoundly moved by the courage and honesty displayed throughout this piece.

The winners of the Mental Health Content – Special Interest category were Paul Fennessy and Karen Leach for their article ‘I do not want any other child, any other young person or athlete to go through what I went through’ for The42.ie. The judges were struck by the overwhelming sense of trust between the authors of this article. They found it an incredibly moving piece with extraordinary depth and heart. They all agreed that it was a hugely powerful and important piece of journalism in its focus on the long-term impact of trauma experienced after abuse.

For the Mental Health Broadcasting – Long Form Award, the winner was Outlier Collective for their RTÉ documentary I’m Fine. This captivating series impressed the judges with honest and articulate accounts of a variety of mental health and suicide experiences. The four contributors were remarkable, and shared their realities with momentous truth and authenticity. Together, with the warm, sensitive and empathic production values, viewers were brought on a journey that was difficult and dark at times – but ultimately these were stories that radiated with a sense of empowerment, wellness, recovery and hope. 

The National Print or Online Journalism Award was won by Patrick Freyne for his article in The Irish Times, ‘Ireland mental health pandemic: from crisis to emergency’. Patrick placed lived experience front and centre in this piece about mental health services in Ireland. The judges felt this was a very strong piece of journalism. The reporter took a very fair approach to an important subject matter and was very thorough, comprehensive and independent. The piece was meticulously researched, featured input from contributors with lived experience of mental ill health, and clearly reflected all sides of the issue.

The Headline Impact Award, which recognises a content creator, commissioning editor, individual producer or programme who has made an exceptional contribution to coverage of mental ill health, went to Tommy Tiernan for The Tommy Tiernan Show. The judges were all struck by Tommy’s natural ability to elicit authentic conversations, to probe and to comfort in one breath, and to bring into our homes stories of ordinary people with extraordinary experiences. The space given to people to share their personal experiences of mental ill health, from loneliness to trauma to suicidal thoughts, speaks to the huge impact of The Tommy Tiernan Show, both on the interviewees themselves and audiences at home.