Sorcha Pollak – Humanitarian Journalist of the Year 2025

After more than a decade reporting on immigration in Ireland, Sorcha Pollak has developed unparalleled access to Ireland’s migrant communities, becoming the leading journalist covering Ireland’s evolving immigration landscape. Her work distinguishes itself by moving beyond sensationalised headlines and statistics to illuminate the human experiences behind migration stories, giving voice to people rarely heard in mainstream discourse. 

Sorcha’s reporting focuses on the rapidly developing and often contentious debate around immigration in Ireland. In August 2024, she spoke to asylum seekers who were attacked and threatened with death while sleeping rough after videos and images revealing their tent locations were posted online. She was also the first journalist to interview men whose tents were attacked with knives on the Dublin quays in summer 2024. 

Her July 2024 investigation from the Crooksling international protection accommodation site exposed the “dirty, unsafe and humiliating” conditions where hundreds of men were being housed, bringing public attention to unacceptable living standards. In September 2024, Sorcha highlighted the crucial work of Irish volunteer groups across the country who dedicate countless hours of their personal time, sometimes at risk to their own safety, to fill support gaps left by government inaction. 

Through persistent investigative reporting and compassionate storytelling, Sorcha ensures that the voices and experiences of migrants and asylum seekers remain visible in Irish public discourse, challenging stereotypes and advocating for more humane approaches to immigration policy.