Mental Health Journalism Fellowship 2026 Winner Announced

Shine is delighted to announce that Irish Examiner and The Echo journalist Donal O'Keeffe has been selected as the Republic of Ireland's 2026/27 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism.

Since 2023, Shine has partnered with the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism to support Irish journalists in reporting on mental health accurately, responsibly and with compassion. Founded by former United States First Lady Rosalynn Carter, the year-long Fellowship provides journalists with expert guidance, training and international peer support to strengthen reporting on mental and behavioural health and help reduce stigma.

Over the coming year, Donal will develop his project exploring the mental health journeys of survivors of the former Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in Cork. Throughout the Fellowship, he will receive specialist guidance, mentoring and support from Shine's Media Programme and The Carter Center.

Shine’s Media Programme is Ireland’s national programme for responsible reporting and representation of mental illness and suicide. Funded through the National Office for Suicide Prevention, the media monitoring offers media professionals evidence-based insights to support them in telling important and complex mental health stories. For more information visit Shine Media Programme.

Following news of his successful pitch, Donal said,

“I am very honoured to be selected for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for mental health journalism. It means the world to me, and I hope I can be worthy of the great privilege which has been afforded me.  My hope is to look at the mental health journeys of mother and baby home survivors, and to document the lived experiences of those survivors.  I am very grateful to Shine, and to the Carter Center, for this great honour, and to my editor, John O'Mahony, for the support given to me."

Shine CEO Nicola Byrne congratulated Donal,

“The quality and range of proposals submitted by applicants from across the country is a testament to the Irish media’s interest in mental health issues. Together with The Carter Center, over the last three years we’ve supported projects from The Irish Times, The Journal, RTÉ One Radio, and Newstalk. This year we’re delighted to support Donal with his project and are grateful to all those who submitted proposals.”

In September, Donal will join the international cohort of Rosalynn Carter Fellows at The Carter Center, where he will present his fellowship project. He will be joined by 2025/26 Fellow James Wilson from Newstalk, who will present his completed project exploring the long-term cross-border mental health impact of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

For more information on the fellowship, visit: The Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism.

Previous fellows from Ireland include Irish Times health correspondent Shauna Bowers, Órla Ryan, formerly with The Journal and now with The Irish Times, RTÉ Radio One's Brian O'Connell, and Newstalk's Claire Darmody and James Wilson. Donal O'Keeffe is the first recipient of the fellowship to come from a regional publication.