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Tommy enters the GAA’s Hall of Fame
Tommy Callaghan, sports editor at the Leinster Leader in Co Kildare, has received one of the highest sporting honours in the country, as he marks his 50th year at the newspaper. Veteran NUJ member Tommy was one of 10
recipients of the 2017 GAA MacNamee Awards, receiving the 2017 Hall of Fame Award at a special banquet held at Croke Park in March. In announcing the awards, Alan Milton, GAA
director of communications, said Tommy had been selected for his “outstanding contribution and services to the GAA through your coverage and passion for our activities over a prolonged period”. Celebrating Tommy’s work anniversary in the pages of the Leinster Leader last October, Tommy’s colleagues called him, “one of our most treasured, respected and widely read staff members”, and credited him with essentially creating the job of sports reporter and editor at the newspaper. It was the first Monday of September 1967, when Tommy entered the green timber gates of the Leader office to begin his career in the printworks. “To all of us who work here, he is a friend,
mentor and rock of sense,” the Leader tribute said. Tommy has been described as a man with a
wry sense of humour, who is unflappable in a crisis. His family, with his wife, Ann, are his pride and joy. Tommy’s family joined him for the special occasion at Croke Park, where he was interviewed by Alan Milton about his 50-year career in the media and his views on Kildare football. Mr. Milton also said that Tommy’s attendance
at games and events over the years and the attention to detail and passion that he brought to his work continue to be a hallmark of journalism that has been highly valued and respected by his peers and Leader readers. Also among MacNamee Award recipients were the Donegal Democrat, which received the Provincial Media Award for their in-depth 180-
Leinster Leader Sports Editor Tommy Callaghan (left) receiving the 2017 Hall of Fame Award from GAA President John Horan, at the 2017 GAA MacNamee Awards at Croke Park.
page book, “Donegal ’92 History Makers”, which recalled the team’s famous campaign under Brian McEniff’s stewardship. “Packed with interesting interviews, player profiles and photographs, the Donegal Democrat’s supplement is a classy and comprehensive account of Donegal history,” the GAA said in making the announcement. This was the third MacNamee Award won by the Democrat in the past seven years; the Democrat also won a MacNamee in the 1990s. Vincent Hogan of the Irish Independent
received the 2017 National Media Award for his interview with Galway hurler Joe Canning, which appeared in the Independent on Saturday, August 5th, 2017. The piece was called “everything a great interview should be”. “Canning has been in the public eye for a long time and spoken to the media on countless occasions, but we learned more from this superbly written piece about the nuances of his personality and what really makes him tick, than from any other interview heretofore,” the GAA said in announcing the award. LMFM received the 2017 Best GAA-Related Radio Programme Award for, “When Sam Crossed the Boyne”, which was broadcast on October 30th, 2017. The documentary looked back at Louth’s victory in the All Ireland Football Final of 1967. The programme gave listeners a chance to re-
live the glories of the distant past, “and gives a great insight into the ability of athletes and supporters to remember vividly things that happened on the field of sport two generations ago”, the GAA said.
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