This year’s NNI Journalism Awards celebrated newspapers’ most important USPs – high quality content and the people who produce it.

NNI sought entries in 16 categories, including three new categories: Best Headline, Crime & Security Reporter and Sports Columnist of the Year.

The most highly prized award of the celebrations, National Journalist of the Year, went to the Irish Independent’s Presidential Campaign team: Michael Brennan, Fiach Kelly, Cormac McQuinn and Fionnan Sheahan.

Other highlights of the awards ceremony included Marisa Reidy of The Kerryman winning NNI Regional Journalist of the Year and Michael O’Farrell of The Irish Mail on Sunday winning the Scoop of the Year category for his sensational undercover story involving the Quinn family.

Meanwhile, Miriam Lord of The Irish Times made it back-to-back wins by taking the award for NNI Political Journalist of the Year for a second consecutive year.

NNI National Journalist of the Year was won by the Irish Independent Presidential Election Team: Michael Brennan, Cormac McQuinn, Fionnan Sheahan and Fiach Kelly.

The full list of winners:

National Journalist of the Year: Irish Independent Presidential Election Team

Regional Journalist of the Year: Marisa Reidy, The Kerryman

Crime & Security Reporter of the Year: Nicola Tallant, Sunday World

Scoop of the Year: Michael O’Farrell, Irish Mail on Sunday

Critic of the Year: Eileen Battersby, The Irish Times

Political Journalist of the Year: Miriam Lord, The Irish Times

Business & Economics Journalist of the Year: Ian Kehoe, Sunday Business Post

Commentator of the Year: Dermot Bolger, Irish Daily Mail

Columnist of the Year: Justine McCarthy, The Sunday Times

Feature Writer of the Year: Philip Nolan, Irish Daily Mail

Young Journalist: Jennifer Bray, Irish Daily Mail

Newspapers in Education: Titanic supplement, Irish Independent

Headline of the Year: “Tiocfaidh Ar Lamh”, Irish Daily Star

Sports Reporter of the Year: Ewan MacKenna, Irish Examiner

Sports Columnist of the Year: Eamonn Sweeney, Sunday Independent

Showbiz Journalist of the Year: Alexandra Ryan, Irish Mail on Sunday

Best Design & Presentation: Irish Daily Mail

In addition, two special awards were presented to great newspaper men who left us during 2012. An award for Outstanding Contribution to the Newspaper Industry was presented to Aengus Fanning RIP, the late editor of The Sunday Independent. A special award, Supreme Wordsmith, was created this year to honour the great sports columnist, Con Houlihan who died in 2012.

The NNI Journalism Awards were a fantastic celebration of newspaper journalism. You can read the winning entries and the citations about each here.