A Castlebar journalist secured a categoryAward in the national Justice Media Awards yesterday, run annually by the Law Society.

Fiona McGarry, a journalist with the Clare Champion,  won the Broadcast Journalism (Radio Local) Award 2023 for her radio documentary Searching for Sandra

Sandra Collins is missing from her Mayo home for 23 years now and the programme focused on Sandra’s family and their long running struggle in the intervening years to locate her and to try to come to terms with her loss.

The Judge described her programme that was broadcast here on Midwest Radio as “an exceptional radio documentary, which gave a voice to the family of one of Ireland's 840 long-term missing persons.  

The production, storytelling and broad range of interviews in this report were excellent. It was an emotional piece presented in a tactful way.”