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By Laura Molloy

Oxygen.ie are delighted to announce the return of the SMEDIAS! This year’s awards will be held on the 9th of April at the Mansion House in Dublin, celebrating an unforgettable milestone – the 25th anniversary of the SMEDIAS! 

The National Student Media Awards are Ireland’s longest running student awards event. They were created to both celebrate and formally recognise the talent of third level students emerging in journalism, broadcasting and digital media.

The first SMEDIAS were held in 2000 at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin. What started with just 22 categories has expanded to recognise excellence across a wide range of disciplines. The awards have continued to be a success ever since and play an integral role in promoting young talent in Irish media. 

Some of the most popular award categories have included Editor of the Year, Newspaper of the Year, Short Story of the Year, Features Writer of the Year (both Arts & Pop Culture and News and Current Affairs) and Magazine of the Year.

The event has also been attended by a variety of presenters each year. Last year, RTÉ’s Sharon Tobin served as both judge and presenter. Before starting her career in journalism, Tobin studied at Ballyfermot College of Further Education. Tobin is the presenter of the national broadcaster’s 6.01 News and has worked in RTÉ for over 16 years.

2024 also welcomed content creator Zara Palozzi to take centre stage. Zara is a social media influencer that concentrates on beauty, fashion and lifestyle. With over 23.5k followers on TikTok and 11.9k followers on Instagram, it is safe to say Paolozzi is a social media expert! Palozzi began her media and PR career as a third level student while studying at Trinity College Dublin, highlighting the significance of taking opportunities as a student!

Another media icon from last year’s awards was Rachel Galvo. Known for her humorous Tiktoks mocking the South Dublin life, Galvo’s true fame emerged from her one-woman show The Shite Feminist. Last year she presented the award for Film Documentary of the Year where she graced the audience with her comedy.

Presenters have not been limited to the world of journalists and content creators. The SMEDIAS has also welcomed those from the big screen including actor and film director Robbie Walsh. Walsh is a past pupil of the Abbey school of Drama having studied acting & film. While studying he was also serving in the Irish Defense Forces! 

If being on the big screen isn’t  impressive enough for you then try having your own radio show! Ray D’Arcy is a television and radio presenter currently on his second stint at broadcaster RTÉ. He has his own radio show, The Ray D’Arcy Show, that airs every weekday. D’Arcy began his media career in the 1990s with a television career focused on children’s television at RTÉ. He presented a quiz show called Blackboard Jungle and the youth music show 2Phat on The Den.

So where are the SMEDIAS winners now?

Winners from all years have gone on to work for big media outlets. For example, last year’s Editor of the Year, Tessa Ndjonkou, is now a news reporter for the Irish Independent. 2019’s winner of the same category, Áine Kenny, is currently the weddings editor for RSVP Magazine after having previously worked for both the Irish Times and the Irish Examiner. 2001’s winner, Ruadhán Mac Cormaic, is now the assistant editor at the Irish Times after working there since 2009.

The awards could not take place without the support of our dedicated team of sponsors who help the night to be a great success each year. Stay tuned to find out the sponsors for 2025! 

More info on this year’s categories and submission guidelines will be published soon. In the meantime, we encourage all students to start gathering their best work in preparation for their entries. If you’re aiming to break into the media world, this is the opportunity you can’t afford to miss! 

SMEDIAS 2025 Timeline

Applications open on 14th Feb

Applications close on 12th March

Event date April 9th

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