Echo editor Maurice Gubbins receives Cork Person of the Month Award

Editor of The Echo newspaper Maurice Gubbins has been honoured for his years of service to journalism on Leeside and his role in mentoring generations of journalists by being named Cork Person of the Month for August.

Cork Person of the Year founder Manus O'Callaghan said that Mr Gubbins, a native of Fermoy in north Cork, was a worthy recipient of the award which recognises Cork people who have given something to the community through their work or their sport or their art.

“Maurice Gubbins has played a huge role in sharing the stories of the people of Cork, across all sectors. He does more than just inform readers, he also provides a platform for local communities, social and sporting clubs and charities,” said Mr O’Callaghan.

“Maurice is a man with a social conscience and under his leadership, The Echo, which is now owned by The Irish Times, continues to be a publication which prioritises the problems and injustices of small communities, highlighting the messages they wish to share.

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“He always exercises a strong social responsibility in promoting Cork people working voluntarily for the common good. He has also given many young journalists their start over the decades. He has indeed made a significant contribution to Cork life and journalism.”

Mr Gubbins began his career in journalism with The Southern Star in West Cork back in the 1970s before joining The Corkman in north Cork. He moved to The Irish Examiner in 1978 where he worked in a variety of reporting and editorial roles before becoming editor of The Echo in 2001.

Married to Jill and father to Sarah and Eoin, Mr Gubbins said he was both honoured and humbled to receive the Cork Person of the Month for August award but paid tribute to the team around him on The Echo and said it was a great reflection of the effort that they all put in each day.

Mr Gubbins’s citation mentions “his leadership role in mentoring quality Irish journalists and also for supporting and promoting Cork community volunteer groups and charities over the last 45 years” and too acknowledged the importance of keeping the community informed of issues and events.

"The team at The Echo and EchoLive.ie work hard to share the stories that Cork people want to hear," said Mr Gubbins who guided the newspaper's transition from The Evening Echo to The Echo, now published every morning, following the acquisition of The Examiner titles by The Irish Times.

“As a Cork community newspaper, it’s our duty and privilege to share local news stories and community initiatives with our readers. The Echo has been with the people of Cork since 1892, so we’ve come a long way together,” he said.

Staying relevant

Mr Gubbins said that having a team of young, enthusiastic reporters helps the Echo stay relevant and among the new developments is a recently produced App.

“It’s free to download and I think that will be really popular and people will love it,” he added.

Meanwhile, a former winner of the Cork Person of the Year award, cervical smear test campaigner Stephen Teap and his two young sons, Oscar and Noah, have been honoured with A Pride of Cork award in recognition of their work to highlight deficiencies in the Irish health system.

Mr Teap, from Carragaline, lost his wife, Irene to cervical cancer on July 26th, 2017 after two missed smear tests and since then he has dedicated his life to ensuring that the Irish health systems does not fail anyone else the way it failed his wife, and himself and their young sons.

The Pride of Cork organisers said that Mr Teap has been a “vocal advocate for accountability and change” since the CervicalCheck scandal emerged, while they also paid tribute to his young sons, Oscar and Noah, who were just four and two when they lost their mother.

“As a family today, Stephen, Oscar and Noah, with the memory of Irene always with them, have rallied together and with the support of their family and friends, they had to rebuild their lives for the future.

"Stephen, Oscar and Noah Teap are a family whose lives were projected into the public arena in the most unexpected and difficult way. They have dealt with the loss of the most precious member of their family in a dignified and unified way that is inspiring to all of us looking on from the outside."