Justice Media Award for work on ‘Prime Time’ documentaries

By Aideen O’Flaherty

AN RTÉ correspondent from Tallaght recently won a Certificate of Merit in the Law Society of Ireland’s Justice Media Awards, for his work on the national broadcaster’s flagship current affairs programme ‘Prime Time’.

Barry Cummins, 46, who grew up in Springfield and is a past pupil of St Mark’s Community School, won the certificate alongside his colleague Sallyanne Godson for their work on two investigative documentaries for the show.

The first documentary explored the involvement of Irish criminals in the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants in a lorry in Essex in 2019, while the second documentary focused on the investigation into the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe.

Barry Cummins was recognised for his work on two investigative documentaries

“The two documentaries were very different. The Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe report involved more interviewing and sitting down and talking to people,” Mr Cummins told The Echo.

“We kept in contact with his family throughout. I like to make sure the families are front and centre in everything I do.

“The documentary about the Vietnamese migrants was of interest because Irish criminals were involved,” Cummins explained.

“I wanted to reflect that 39 people had died and Irish criminals were partly to blame.

“The Vietnamese migrants had paid money to leave for a better life, like so many Irish people have done. Each of those 39 people wanted to get into Britain for a better life.

“It was a horrific crime, and I think people did realise the horror of it.”

The two documentaries received recognition at the annual Justice Media Awards last month, when Mr Cummins and Ms Godson won a Certificate of Merit in the International Justice Reporting category.

When asked how he felt about winning the certificate, Mr Cummins said: “I’m delighted with it. It’s nice to know that you’re doing a decent job, and it spurs you on.”

Mr Cummins works as the security correspondent for ‘Prime Time’ and has worked for RTÉ for over 18 years, with a particular interest in crime reporting and missing people cases.

The first crime that Mr Cummins remembers hearing of when he was growing up was the murder of Garda Patrick Reynolds in Avonbeg Gardens, Tallaght, in 1982.

Garda Reynolds was fatally wounded after he entered a flat in the estate with four other colleagues, after receiving an anonymous tip off.

The gardai found a gang of six heavily-armed people counting the proceeds of a bank robbery. One member of the gang fired at Garda Reynolds twice, killing him.

The murder of Garda Reynolds is currently unsolved, and this piqued Mr Cummins’ interest in shining a light on unsolved cases when he later began working as a journalist.

The Springfield man’s first experience of crime reporting occurred shortly after he began working at Midlands Radio in Tullamore in the early 90s, when he covered the disappearance of 25-year-old Fiona Pender who went missing without trace from her flat in the town.

This led to an enduring interest in covering the stories of missing people and victims of crime. Mr Cummins said keeping the people affected by these crimes in the public consciousness is a key part of his work.

“I could fill a TV programme many times over with people who deserve justice and recognition,” he explained.

“I love reporting when crimes are solved and the fact that people are caught, but for every murder that’s solved, there are others that are unsolved.

“There’s still so much to be done, and so much to report.”