Joe’s joy: Former Limerick Leader MD given lifetime achievement award

THE FORMER managing director of the Limerick Leader newspaper has won a prestigious lifetime achievement award.

Joe Gleeson, who headed this newspaper for over 30 years until his retirement in 2006, won the award at the annual Local Ireland media awards.

In total, he spent 48 years working at the Limerick Leader, including 28 years as a member in what is now Local Ireland (the Regional Newspapers and Printers Association of Ireland).​

Speaking after winning the award at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Athlone, Mr Gleeson outlined the changes he had seen among the newspaper industry in these years, from hot metal composition to computerisation.

“Printing had hardly changed for almost 100 years until the 1970s when the ‘New Technology’, desktop publishing and offset printing came on the scene, and there has been constant change since.

“The future is not going to be easy as more developments in technology are making it easier to access news and communicate it to the population at large. However, local newspapers must continue to report and expand their coverage of every aspect of local news both in print and online,” he said.

The Leader was nominated for two awards – Nick Rabbitts in the sports story of the year category and the newspaper advertising department for an advertisement with Rooney’s.