Irish Country Living has been named the Newsbrands Newspaper Magazine of the Year 2021 at the prestigious journalism awards.

The magazine, contained in the Irish Farmers Journal every week, saw off stiff competition in its category, being shortlisted alongside publications such as Life (Sunday Independent), People & Culture (Sunday Independent), Irish Tatler (Business Post), Home (The Sunday Times) and the Business Post Magazine.

Judging panel member Trevor White commended Irish Country Living for consciously expanding its audience through great journalism.

Irish Country Living editor Amii McKeever said she was “absolutely thrilled” with the win.

“It a fantastic reflection of the work that the team, who had to adapt to a massively changed environment during COVID-19, does to produce a fantastic publication every week.

“Irish Country Living broadens the appeal of the Irish Farmers Journal beyond the farmer looking for technical information and news on their farming enterprise, and brings the paper into the family home.

“It is recognised as ‘having something for everyone’ in the home, connecting with a broad readership from young to old, male and female,” she said.

Relevant

“Through our features, we support local enterprises and communities. But we also question and highlight problematic issues for rural Ireland,” the editor continued.

“We also answer the questions that are relevant to our audience through our contributors who specialise in law, tax and mental health. We give the people of rural Ireland a voice and we put a face on farmers and food production.”

Passion for rural Ireland

McKeever paid tribute to the Irish Country Living team, whose passion for rural Ireland and all the people in it comes across in every single issue.

Photography is a key part of all magazines and the Irish Country Living team spend time to ensure that the cover story and image are powerful enough to draw the reader into the paper.

“We work with a number of talented photographers, who understand the reader of Irish Country Living and the vision of the editor, to capture this heart of rural Ireland,” said McKeever.

“Although everyone will have their specific areas to work in, we encourage everyone to put forward their ideas outside of those specific areas. I believe that this freedom to write encourages diverse opinion and reporting amongst our team.

“COVID-19 has challenged our team to be a source of factual information relevant to our readership - but also escape from a changed world.”