The Indo Daily was crowned the best current affairs and politics podcast, while Indo Sport – A Closer Look won best sport podcast.
The All-Ireland Podcast Awards – held in the Woodlands Hotel, Co Limerick, tonight – crowned winners across news, sport, comedy and drama at its first annual ceremony, recognising the immense talent, innovation and storytelling impact of audio creators across the island.
The Indo Daily is a Monday-to-Friday current affairs podcast from the Irish Independent, taking listeners beyond the headlines of the stories people are talking about, and covering news, politics and the biggest stories in Irish life and worldwide. It is hosted by Kevin Doyle, Tabitha Monahan, Fionnán Sheahan and Tessa Fleming.
Indo Sport – A Closer Look takes listeners on a deeper dive into some of sport’s biggest storylines and iconic moments. It is hosted by Joe Molloy.
Mediahuis Ireland group head of audio Mary Carroll said: “It is brilliant that the [All-Ireland Podcast Awards] are shining a light on all the great work being done in the industry. To win both the daily news and sports categories is an amazing achievement for the Irish Independent.
“It comes in the same week that The Indo Daily has achieved its highest ever listenership and we are so proud of the team.
“Indo Sport with Joe Molloy is only one year old and growing all the time.”
Accepting the awards, Mr Doyle, Irish Independent’s executive editor, said: “These podcasts were born out of a traditional newsroom, with journalists who signed up to write stories, but are now finding their voice and new ways of bringing their important reporting to audiences.
“It is a team effort that brings reporters, producers, presenters, sound engineers and editors together in a competitive field, and we don’t take such prestigious awards for granted.”
Other winners on the night included RTÉ, which won in the true crime section for The Real Carrie Jade. The BBC’s podcast about Freddie Scappaticci, Cover: Stakeknife, won in the documentary and drama section.
Broadcaster Doireann Garrihy also landed an award, with The Laughs of Your Life winning best podcast in the conversation section. Amplified from the Engineers Journal won the award for business and innovation.
The entertainment award went to Young Hot Guys, and Nicky Byrne collected the Spotlight Award.
Awards founder Kathryn Mason, from Masonry PR, said the event showcased the creative talent Ireland had to offer audiences.
“The huge interest we saw in this first year confirms to me that this is a vital platform for the podcast sector,” she said. “This is not a one-off event; this is the start of a journey.”
Head judge Dylan Haskins said: “The range and quality of entries we had shows there’s such a diverse mix of shows, whether that’s from independent creators, commercial publishers or public service broadcasters … The winners of the inaugural awards have been recognised for their excellence. And awards by their nature involve competition, but the All-Ireland Podcast Awards are as much about having an annual moment of coming together and celebrating the work that’s been made.”