2024 GAA MacNamee Awards winners announced

The winners of the 2024 MacNamee Awards have been confirmed by the GAA. The GAA National Communication and Media Awards are named after the late Pádraig MacNamee, former President of the GAA, Chairman of the GAA Commission (1969-1971) and member of the RTÉ authority.

They are presented annually in recognition of outstanding contributions made by individuals and Association units in the area of media and communications.

Uachtarán CLG Jarlath Burns said: “It is very fitting that the MacNamee Awards will be presented on November 1 – the calendar anniversary of the formation of the GAA 141 years ago, and the birth of a movement that was inspired in part by writers and journalists. From those earliest days the GAA was acutely aware of the importance of communication and of the need to be able to tell our story and have our voice heard. The passing decades have served to only make this ever more crucial. These are turbulent times in the media industry and an initiative like the MacNamee Awards allows us to recognise professionals who excel in the coverage of our games, coverage that we greatly value as we promote the GAA.”

The winners of the 2024 MacNamee Awards are as follows:

2024 Best GAA Publication – Brian Kelly

“59’ An Eyewitness Account of Hurling’s Golden Age”

An account of Waterford GAA’s last All Ireland Senior hurling win, when the Liam MacCarthy cup returned to the Déise County.

It is clear that a great deal of research has gone into delivering this book, and it serves as a testament to the pride of Waterford in its hurling tradition. This inspired production celebrates the 65^th anniversary of Waterford’s last All-Ireland senior triumph and tells the story of that year in the words of the players themselves with recollections from the Waterford team and a number of their opponents.

This first-hand oral history testimony from great hurlers of a golden, but bygone era is an invaluable record for the GAA to have and preserve for present and future generations. The men of 59 hold a special place in Waterford folklore and this meticulously researched book ensures their legacy lives on.

2024 Best GAA Club Publication – Watty Grahams GAC

“Becoming KINGS”

This fantastic book charts the wonderful success story of Watty Graham’s and their bid to become AIB All Ireland Club Champions.

*Becoming Kings *receives the honours because of the fascinating story of the quest for the county title, combined with the overall aesthetic of the book. In a world where short attention spans reign supreme, the authors keep the reader enthralled with clever editing and bitesize anecdotes enhanced by a great collection of photographs. *Becoming Kings *captures a moment in time and highlights the love of club that supersedes all else for everyone in the GAA.

The sleek design, fantastic imagery and beautifully put together text ensured this book stood out in a very tough category. Writing a book for your club requires a huge amount of research, fact finding and editing and the judges wish to give enormous credit to all who entered this year.  

2024 Digital Impact Award:

Offaly GAA

Offaly GAA Communications, led by County Communications Officer, Padraig O’Meara, has won the Best Digital Impact Award with an impressive digital strategy, which has grown Offaly GAA into one of the largest county social media footprints in the country.

The ‘fly on the wall’ videos captured the magic of Offaly’s historic U20 All-Ireland triumph in June 2024 and brought unprecedented excitement to the county’s online community and has transformed Offaly GAA’s digital presence. This has made Offaly GAA a leader in digital GAA storytelling and news in the country.

2024 Best Photograph:

“Northern Lights” by Michael Canavan, Redmond O’Hanlons GAC, Armagh

Seizing an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime, Michael Canavan posed the Anglo Celt Cup on his lawn to capture this truly amazing photograph of the Northern Lights last October. This image combines a well-chosen subject to guide the viewer’s eye and tell a story that in itself was a breathtaking event, a tale of two galaxy’s colliding.

2024 Best GAA Programme:

Down Senior Football Championship Final Programme

Beautifully presented in B5 format, this match programme is excellently styled with an optimal use of shading and colour.

The content is sharply focused towards the supporter with well thought out editorial, stats and imagery. It is an excellent memento of the big day and a credit to all involved.

This is a second MacNamee Award for Best Match Programme for the current Down Communications Officer, Paula Magee, previously won in 2022.

2024 Best GAA Related Radio Programme – RTE Sunday Sport

“Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh RIP” - presented by Barry O’Nѐill

The winning entry in the 2024 McNamee Awards Best GAA related radio programme has more than a little poignancy about it.

Broadcast in June last year, it honoured the memory of a man who was at the heart of the broadcasting of Gaelic Games for six decades and central to the history of the programme in which the tribute was given.

It traced Micheál Ó Muirchertaigh’s career from his very first broadcast in 1949 to his funeral and burial in Daingean Uí Chúis the previous day.

It was a truly fitting vignette of the legacy of a man “nach bhfeicfidh muid a leithéid go deo arís”.

2024 Provincial Media Award:

Billy Coss, The Tuam Herald - “Noel Tierney RIP”

60 years after he was crowned Footballer of the Year in 1964, Noel Tierney sat down with Tuam Herald Sports Editor, Billy Coss, to reminisce on his glittering Galway career.

The result was an outstanding piece of journalism that gave a great insight into the golden era of Galway football whilst also painting a vivid picture of Ireland in the 1960s.

Tierney, a powerful full-back on the Galway team that won three All-Ireland titles in a row from 1964 to ‘66, was a big character off the pitch too, which really comes across in a piece that amuses as well as informs.

Sadly, he would pass away three weeks after the interview was published. Billy Coss has done his memory a great service by penning such a fine piece.

2024 National Media Award:

Kieran Cunningham, The Irish Daily Star “Dubliners – 15 Short Stories”

Throughout the decades, between 1974 and 2024, Dublin GAA experienced pleasant and painful days.  Some of the great characters and stories are beautifully documented in Kieran Cunningham's 15 short stories feature 'Dubliners 1974-2024'. The 12-page pullout was published in the Irish Daily Star on Saturday September 7, 2024.

2024 Gradam na Gaeilge (Irish Language Award):

Below the Radar, “Pobail na Páirce”

Sa tsraith Pobail na Páirce, fiosraítear na scéalta a bhaineann le cuid de na staideanna is iomráití sa tír agus léirítear tábhacht na bpáirceanna seo do lucht leanta na gcluichí Gaelacha fud fad na tíre. Tugtar cuairt ar Staid Semple i nDúrlas Éile, ar Pháirc Tailteann san Uaimh, ar Pháirc Naomh Tighearnach i gCluain Eois agus ar Staid an Phiarsaigh i nGaillimh le haghaidh cluichí móra sa tsraith seo. Nochtar stair na bpáirceanna baile agus leantar lucht eagraithe na gcluichí agus iad i mbun oibre ar laethanta móra cluichí. Below The Radar a léirigh an tsraith seo do TG4.

*Pobail na Páirce *explores some of the most iconic stadiums in Ireland and reveals the importance of these grounds for supporters across the country. In the series the crew visit Semple Stadium, Thurles, Páirc Tailteann, Navan, St Tiernach’s Park, Clones, and Pearse Stadium, Galway, for big match days. We are given a history of the stadiums and a behind the scenes insight into what is involved in organising the games. The series was produced by Below The Radar for TG4.

2024 Hall of Fame:

Clíona Foley

The Mac Namee Hall of Fame Award in recognition of a lifetime of excellence in Gaelic games coverage will be presented to Cliona Foley.

Clíona Foley is a trail blazer. She was the first woman to cover Gaelic games in a national newspaper and continues to be an inspirational presence in Irish media.

Born and raised in Abbeyleix and educated in Kilkenny and Mountrath, Clíona initially qualified as a PE and English teacher from Thomond College before pursuing her dream of becoming a sports journalist with a post-grad in NIHE Dublin, now DCU School of Journalism. During an eight-week placement with Independent newspapers Clíona’s journalistic talents were championed by Group Sports Editor Pat Courtney and Evening Herald Sports Editor PJ Cunningham, and she became a fulltime member of the sports desk in 1990.

Inspired by the style of American sports writers she enjoyed on working holidays in the US while a teacher, Clíona’s expert eye for describing the colour of epic match days in Clones, Castlebar, Cork and Croke Park made her an invaluable part of the Independent and Herald’s Championship coverage.

Clíona’s passion for all sports made her a versatile asset for many years and, since leaving the Independent Group in 2015, she has continued to cover a variety of sports across all manner of platforms. She has worked at eight Olympiads across Summer, Winter and Paralympic Games, and been a strong advocate for increasing the coverage and awareness of female sport.

She was the first woman to cover the GAA in the national print media and her commitment to excellence in that coverage has ensured she was not the last, inspiring more women to follow in her footsteps.