Cara Toal, Charlotte Galvin, Matthew Mulligan, Ms. Gemma Cooper, Sadhbh Coakley and Emily Carroll

KCS is delighted to celebrate the success of our students whose publication, The Voice of KCS, was awarded 3rd place in the School Newspaper category at this year’s Young Journalist Ireland Awards. 

Young Journalist Ireland is a national news literacy and student journalism programme run by NewsBrands Ireland, representing Ireland’s leading national newspapers. Designed for Transition Year students, the programme encourages participants to think like journalists while building confidence, communication, and news literacy skills. Through hands-on activities such as writing articles, conducting interviews, and researching facts, students learn to express their views constructively, evaluate information critically, and engage in public discourse with insight and integrity. This year’s competition saw close to 500 entries, making the standard exceptionally high. To be named among the finalists—and to achieve a top-three placing—is a remarkable accomplishment for our students and reflects their creativity, teamwork, and dedication. 

Participating schools receive extensive supports, including access to digital newspapers, structured lesson plans, a student handbook, newsletters, and a complimentary subscription to The Irish Times. These resources support the development of key writing styles—information, persuasion, argument, and narration—while reinforcing the aims of the Leaving Certificate English curriculum. 

Entries were assessed by an esteemed judging panel drawn from across Ireland’s media and academic sectors. The panel was chaired by Kieran McDaid and included Sheila O’Reilly, Deputy Editor of the Irish Examiner; Daniel McConnell, Editor of the Business Post; Declan Conlon, Head of Audio at The Irish Times; Eddie Coffey, Editor of the Irish Daily Mail; Fiona Wynne, Editor of the Irish Sun; Neil Leslie, Editor of the Irish Daily Star; Aaron Rogan, Deputy Editor of the Business Post; Linda Maher, Deputy Features Editor of the Irish Daily Mail; Orla McElroy, Sports Editor of the Irish Daily Mail; Patrick O’Donoghue, Journalist with The Sunday Times; Anne Hayden, Deputy Chief Sub Editor at The Irish Times; David Robbins, Associate Professor at DCU’s School of Communications; and David Branigan, President of the PPAI. 

The awards ceremony took place on Thursday, April 16th at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre and was hosted by Róisín Ingle. The event celebrated the very best of student journalism and provided a memorable experience for all involved.  

We are incredibly proud of our students’ achievement. Their success highlights the strength of student voice in KCS and the importance of programmes like Young Journalist Ireland in nurturing informed, articulate, and engaged young people. 

Congratulations to all involved—we look forward to seeing many more editions of The TY Voice of KCS in the years ahead.