UCD's Sophie Finn claims overall gong at student media awards

Sophie Finn, a final year Law student at UCD and features editor of UCD's University Observer is the winner of the Irish Examiner Journalist of the Year at the  Student Media Awards 2022. Photograph Moya Nolan

The student journalist of the year award, sponsored by the Irish Examiner, was won by a student from University College Dublin at the National Student Media Awards on Thursday. 

Sophie Finn won the prestigious title, with other awards going to students from NUI Galway and Trinity College Dublin among others.

Overall students from Trinity College Dublin took home seven of the 35 awards.

The ‘Irish Times Newspaper of the Year’ title went to the University Times newspaper based at Trinity College Dublin.

Our 2022 Journalist of the Year Award goes to Sophie Finn from UCD! Thanks to @irishexaminer for their sponsorship #Smedias2022

— SMEDIA Awards 2025 (@TheSmedias) April 28, 2022

NUI, Galway’s Elizabeth Hunt won the ‘Irish Independent Editor of the Year Award’ for her work on Ethereal Magazine. This is the first time a magazine editor won this award.

A new category for Podcast of the Year was won by Katie Hackett of TUD , and the ‘Failte Ireland Journalism Relating to Travel’ was won by Charles Alexander Moody-Stuart, a student at NUI, Galway.

[social=twitter]

https://twitter.com/TheSmedias/status/1519792380991447041[/social]

Judges on this year’s panels included Sheila Reilly, Head of Editorial Development at the Irish Examiner, award-winning author Anne Griffin, Irish Examiner News Editor Deirdre O'Shaughnessy and award-winning director/ screenwriter Robbie Walsh.

Sophie Finn, University College Dublin , centre, winner with Faye Curran, right, and Mairead Maguire, Trinity College Dublin nominees in the Irish Examiner Journalist of the Year Student Media Awards 2022. Photograph Moya Nolan

Irish Examiner political correspondent Aoife Moore presented two of the awards, and the paper’s political editor Daniel McConnell was also present.

Hosted by Oxygen.ie, the awards, known as the SMEDIAS, are seen as one of the most important dates in the student media calendar.

The awards have been running for 22 years and have seen prominent journalists such as Samantha Libreri (Editor of the Year, 2004), Sean Defoe (Radio Journalist of the Year, 2015) and Colm Flynn (TV Production of the Year, 2010) on the podium.

“They allow students to showcase their work in journalism, radio and TV production, broadcasting and writing to prominent figures from the Irish media industry to judge,” a spokeswoman said.