And in a hugely successful night for the newspaper, our photographers and reporters also took five other awards.

The Limerick Leader beat off stiff competition from the Clare People, the Clare Champion, the Nenagh Guardian and the Tipperary Star to be awarded the title of best newspaper in the region.

Leader journalist David Hurley took the prize for the best news piece for his coverage of the brutal murders of Mark Moloney and James Cronin last April, while John Hogan won the best sports piece award for his Leader Interview with Federico Pucciarello.

Photographer Owen South took two awards: one in the best photo (news) category for capturing a fire at the Crossagalla Industrial Estate in the Ballysimon Road, while he also took the best photo feature award for his image of famous poet Desmond O'Grady in the White House pub.

Fellow Leader photographer Adrian Butler won the best photo (general) prize for his portrait of Frank McCourt.

Editor Alan English said he was "delighted our fantastic team have been honoured by MAMCA. These awards recognise the talent and commitment of the Limerick Leader team. Both in our newspapers and online, the Leader strives every day to bring our readers the best local news service around."

For more on the awards, see this weekend's Limerick Leader