PICTURE: Tipperary man among big winners at Travel Extra Journalist of the Year Awards

Domhnall O’Donoghue was presented with the overall Travel Extra Journalist of the Year Award at a ceremony on January 24.

But there was huge local success at the awards as well with "Best Broadcasting – Local" going to Clonmel's Fergal O’Keeffe, for several entries, broadcast on ClareFM Morning Focus Show. 

Ten other winners, each for different holidaying categories, were announced at the awards dinner sponsored by the Spanish Tourism Office and Costa del Sol Tourism in Thomas Prior Hall, Clayton Hotel Ballsbridge.

The prestigious event was attended by the top Irish travel and tourism writers and broadcasters, whose work is testament to the creativity and innovation of travel and tourism journalism in Ireland.

The award winners were selected by a distinguished panel of senior Irish journalists.

The category winners were:

Travel Extra Travel Journalist of the Year Awards 2024

Best Home Market (Ireland) – Sponsored by Fáilte Ireland
Winner: Pól Ó Conghaile, for a collection of work but most notably ‘Connemara: Ireland’s wild west, where all four seasons are flung at us in a few hours’, published in the Irish Independent.

Best Broadcasting – National – Sponsored by TUI
Winner: Ed Finn, for his series ‘Ed Finn’s America’, broadcast onVirgin Media Television.

Best Broadcasting – Local – Sponsored by UWalk.ie and NavanTravel
Winner: Tipp man Fergal O’Keeffe, for several entries, broadcast on Clare FM Morning Focus Show.

Best Northern Ireland – Sponsored by Tourism Northern Ireland
Winner: Isabel Conway, for ‘Derry Air has never sounded so sweet’, published in the Sunday Independent.

Best Long Haul – Sponsored by Cassidy Travel

Winner: Paddy Barry, for ‘Our mad drive to Mongolia’, published in the Irish Independent Weekend Magazine.

Best Short Haul (including Sun holidays & City Breaks) – Sponsored by Sunway & Constantinou Bros Hotels Cyprus
Winner: Conor Pope, for ‘Contrary Catalonia’, published in The Irish Times.

Best Sustainable – Sponsored by Spanish Tourism Office and Andalucia Tourism
Winner: Catherine Murphy, for ‘Sustainable Algarve’, published in The Sunday Independent.

Best Ski & Adventure – Sponsored by Topflight & Schladming Tourist Board, Austria
Winner: Melanie May, for ‘Lapland is for life, not just Christmas’, published in the Irish Daily Mail.

Best Digital Media – Sponsored by Click&Go Holidays
Winner: Shane Cullen, for ‘Celebrity Ascent, First-Hand Look Onboard Celebrity Cruises’ New Ship’, published in Ireland’s Travel Trade Network.

The Gerry O'Hare Memorial Award for Best Newcomer Journalist – Sponsored by Visit Malta
Winner: Mark Jackson, for ‘Guided through India’, published in the Irish Daily Mail.

Travel Extra Journalist of the Year – Sponsored by the Spanish Tourism Office and Costa del Sol Tourism

Winner: Domhnall O’Donoghue, for a collection of work, published in the Belfast Telegraph, Ireland of the Welcomes, Woman’s Way. A unanimous choice for the breadth and excellence of his work, encompassing a variety of categories.