DIT sets the pace at student media event

Dublin Institute of Technology led the field in this year’s national student media awards, which were presented at a gala event in Dublin last night.

The Dublin college collected seven prizes in the Smedias 2014, including the Editor of the Year award for Al McConnell for his work with the college publication, the Edition.

Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology came second overall, with four prizes, including Short Film of the Year for Michael Carolan's film One Thousand Yards .

Director Lenny Abrahamson was the judge for this hotly contested category, with other figures from entertainment and the media, including The Irish Times , sitting on the judging panels.

The University Observer at UCD took Newspaper of the Year, with its reporter Elizabeth O'Malley winning Journalist of the Year and its editor Kevin Beirne winning the Features Writer: News and Politics Award.

Trinity College Dublin, UCC and Griffith College also earned three awards each at the event, which was organised by student website Oxygen.ie.

Some 34 categories of work were recognised, from short stories to blogging, the latter prize going to thecircular.org.