An RTÉ Prime Time programme was the winner of the first annual Radharc Award, presented in Dublin yesterday by the President, Mrs McAleese, at a reception hosted by the Irish Churches' Council for Television and Radio Affairs.
Complex Problems: St Teresa's Gardens was produced by Mr Eddie Doyle, with Ms Keelin Shanley reporting. It dealt with one of the most deprived areas in the country where 87 per cent of the people are on social welfare and one in 10 is unemployed.
Highly commended awards went to Gael I gCein: Sorcha, a programme about the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras and produced by Mr Joe Reddington of TG4 Nuacht, and to To Russia With Love, which dealt with the adoption of two Russian children by a Dublin couple. It was produced by Mr Adrian McCarthy of Wildfire Films. The award honours the late Father Joe Dunn who was a co-founder of the Radharc series on RTÉ.