Former Connacht Tribune editor to be honoured by NUI Galway

The Discipline of Journalism and Communication at NUI Galway will host the inaugural ‘John Cunningham Journalism Lecture’ on Monday.

The event honours the late Connacht Tribune Group Editor and long-time journalism lecturer, John Cunningham.

The lecture will be delivered by the British media commentator and academic, Professor Roy Greenslade. In his lecture, entitled ‘21st century journalism: Reasons to be cheerful while feeling a little sad’, Prof Greenslade will argue that journalism has never been more important, but that it is facing existential threats that must be overcome.

Ahead of his visit to Galway and honouring Mr Cunningham, Prof Greenslade, said: “Journalists are producing excellent work amid the disruption to old media created by the digital revolution. But I am concerned about the loss of newsroom numbers and the verities of a collaborative news-gathering culture.”

The John Cunningham Award for Journalism is also being inaugurated for the highest achieving MA Journalism graduate at NUI Galway. This year’s winner is Julia Tereno, a journalist with Newstalk, who is originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Tom Felle, Head of Journalism and Communication at NUI Galway, said: “John Cunningham was one of Ireland’s best local newspaper editors and he made an indelible impression on the lives of the hundreds of journalists he trained as a lecturer in journalism. We are delighted to be able to honour his memory with this public lecture that we hope will become an important annual event.”

John was Group Editor of the Connacht Tribune from 1984 until his retirement in 2007. He continued to write on politics in his weekly ‘Corridors of Power’ column until his death in 2012. A native of Tuam, he began his career in journalism as junior reporter with the Tribune in 1964. He was appointed News Editor in 1978 and in 1982 took up an appointment as Editor of The Waterford News and Star and The East Cork News with Examiner Group.

John was appointed Editor of the Connacht Tribune, in succession to Sean Fahy, in 1984, and was part of a team which introduced a number of important developments and changes in the group’s newspapers, including the launch of the Galway City Tribune. John was a regular contributor to national newspapers and to radio and television over many years. He won a Journalist of The Year Award in 1979 for his ‘Corridors of Power’ column for his work on the controversy surrounding the use of Section Four of the City and County Management Act to force through planning permissions. The column – written under the pseudonym ‘The Deputy’ – was one of the longest running in the country.

A former member of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission, John lectured in Journalism with the M.A. Journalism course at NUI Galway and in 2006 was conferred with an Honorary Master of Arts Degree by the College for his work in journalism and in the education area. He was also recipient of an AIB/Rehab ‘People of the Millennium Award’ in 2000.

He lectured at NUI Galway for 18 years and continued to write his weekly newspaper columns right up to his death in 2012.

■ The event takes place on  Monday, November 18 in the Aula Maxima at 5pm. It is free and open to the public. To register email journalism@nuigalway.ie