After dedicating the last six months to sharing the stories of people across Limerick, the launch of the 19th paper edition of Limerick Voice provided an opportunity for the team themselves to be heard.
The event was celebrated on Wednesday, February 18 in the University of Limerick’s Glucksman Library.
Each Limerick Voice editor shared the work that they had done over the last few months, giving the audience an insight into the process and work that goes into making a paper.
As well as the Limerick Voice team, attendees also heard from UL journalism lecturer Dr. Kathryn Hayes, Limerick Leader managing editor Áine Fitzgerald, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS), Dr. Sandra Joyce, and Councillor Elena Secas, deputising for the Mayor of Limerick.
A Message (or a few) from the Editors
Limerick Voice editor Conor Curran kicked off the presentation, speaking about his time as editor-in-chief of the paper.
He aimed high with this year’s edition, saying that he was “blessed with classmates that wanted to reach the same heights.”
“It’s clear to me that like many things in life, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it,” he said.
He thanked deputy editor Conor O’Mahony, each section editor, the social media managers, the team of reporters, lecturer Dr. Hayes, and Limerick Post’s Kieran White, who he said was “nothing short of a superhero to us.”
He hoped that everyone would enjoy this year’s Limerick Voice, adding that it is “more important than ever to give a voice to the voiceless.”
Deputy editor Conor O’Mahony highlighted the “tremendous effort” put forward by the team in the final hours to get the paper done.
He thanked Limerick Leader managing editor Áine Fitzgerald, who he said gave “very valuable advice” to Limerick Voice reporters and editors when they pitched their story ideas for the paper several months prior.
He was thrilled to be sharing a “fantastic 40-page newspaper” with all attendees, as well as readers across Limerick.
News editor Ciara Nolan said she was proud to share “the work our talented newsroom produced.”
She spoke about how happy she was to be part of a team focused on “sharing the stories of those voices who aren’t always heard.”
From a “hard-hitting” piece on cocaine use, to the “tragic circumstances” of the Palestinian survivors interviewed for the paper, she praised the wide range of news stories covered in this year’s edition.
Features editor Aoife Cahill spoke about the many stories shared in the features section of Limerick Voice, including a special section highlighting women who are “paving the way.”
Her focus for the section was to amplify the voices of Limerick people “who are succeeding brilliantly, but just a little bit too quietly for our liking.”
She said, “we didn’t just want headlines, we wanted conversations,” adding that she felt all the feature stories this year “achieved that goal.”
Arts and Culture editor Philip Mullane kept his speech short and sweet, “just like our section,” he joked.
Thanking everyone who contributed to the section, giving a special shout out to entertainment correspondent Shauna O’Mahony, he told the audience how happy he was that reporters got to write about things they were “truly passionate about” in his section.
Sports editor Andrew Moynihan gave a “massive thanks” to everyone who contributed to the sports section, including deputy sports editor Diarmuid O’Carroll and the team of sports reporters.
“We really covered it all in this year’s section,” he told attendees, giving a snippet of the wide range of sports covered by the team.
“Enjoy it, we certainly did,” he concluded.
Podcast editor Kate Kennedy said that the podcast allowed her to “dive deeper into the stories the Voice has been reporting on.”
The goal of the podcast was “to hear the people behind the headline and that’s exactly what we’ve achieved,” she said.
She also thanked deputy podcast editor Katie McNamara for her amazing contribution to the episodes.
Social media editor Nicole Kenihan told the audience: “The way we consume news has changed.”
She explained that “social media might be the first place people encounter our stories,” adding that they collated a total of 675,000 views across platforms on Limerick Voice accounts.
Content creation manager Marina Sánchez-Díaz showed launch attendees the video content that they produced throughout the year, including the ‘Weekly News Roundup’ series and the ‘Meet the Editors’ videos.
Online editor Aisling Kavanagh reminded the audience that, although they were gathered to celebrate the paper edition of Limerick Voice, the online news stories aren’t going anywhere.
She presented an analysis of viewer numbers, saying: “What’s most encouraging is not just the increase in numbers, it’s the consistency.”
She feels that the results “have spoken for themselves,” adding that Limerick Voice can now continue to grow its audience, which she credits to be a fantastic opportunity for student publications.
The Team Behind the Team
Hosting the launch, Dr. Kathryn Hayes said the team had “been working extremely hard since the beginning of the year.”
Speaking about the Limerick Voice project, she explained to the audience how it provides “real world experience” for the students involved.
Dr. Sandra Joyce, Dean of AHSS said that Limerick Voice is “A publication that truly lives up to its mission statement; ‘Where Limerick is heard.’”
Praising this year’s team, she said: “This project reflects the power of journalism.”
Cllr. Elena Secas congratulated the Limerick Voice team on their “fantastic achievement.”
“As a former journalist myself I can tell you this is not an easy job,” she continued.
She said that it was evident “a lot of hard work” went into the edition, adding: “The future of journalism is good hands.”
Limerick Leader managing editor Áine Fitzgerald said that she was “in awe” of how well the editors spoke, adding that she felt the whole team “really understood” what journalism is about.
She stated that the front-page stories about the decreasing footfall in Limerick city and the rise in cocaine use in young people were “serious, socially important work.”
Ms. Fitzgerald added that the stories from Gaza “remind us what journalism is really about: people, humanity and connection.”
She concluded by saying that, when you make people feel heard as a journalist, “there really is no better job in the world.”
The 19th edition of Limerick Voice is available this week, free inside the weekend edition of the Limerick Leader.