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Young journalists off to
Brussels
29.08.08
by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent
TWO young Inishowen journalists are celebrating this
week having been rewarded for excellence in their
coverage of European affairs.
Kevin Kelly from Dunaff and Marie McDonald from
Moville are among a group of young journalists from
the North West who will travel to Brussels from
September 9 to September 11 to see the workings for
the European Parliament and Commission. They join
fellow winners in the European Young Journalism
Competition from Clare, Mayo, Galway and Westmeath.
The competition was organised under the auspices of
MEP Jim Higgins and the European People’s Party – of
which Higgins’ Fine Gael party is a member – and a
Brussels-based panel judged the entries. |
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Kelly won his award for
a series of articles he penned for the Inishowen
Independent in the run up to the June referendum,
while McDonald won her award for an Inishowen
Community Radio programme on the price disparity in
groceries between Inishowen and Derry.
“I wanted to do something that about Europe that had
a real relevance to Inishowen, so I looked at the
difference in grocery prices between |
here and Derry,” Marie said. “It’s a big issue in a
border area like this and the European Commission
has launched an investigation into the price
differentials between the Republic and the North so
it will be great to get the chance to ask more
questions about that.”
“It’s a great opportunity for me to visit the
European Parliament as I have a keen interest in
European affairs,” said Kevin Kelly, who also
presents talk shows on ICR. “My articles covered the
build up to the Lisbon Treaty referendum. Europe
faces a great deal of uncertainty following
Ireland’s rejection of the treaty. Many people also
feel disenfranchised from the work of Europe
especially in rural areas like Inishowen so it will
be interesting to discover how Europe plans to
address these issues.”
The itinerary includes a visit to the European
Parliament including a tour of the Parliament Room,
a question and answer session with Jim Higgins and
other Irish MEPs and a tour of the European
Commission Headquarters. |
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