The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients were selected by Ireland's national newspaper television and radio critics. Jacob's Award winners were chosen annually until 1993, when the final awards presentation took place. Winners of a Jacob's Award include Fionnula Flanagan (1965), Gay Byrne (1979), and Brendan Gleeson (1992). The record for the most awards won is held by Gay Byrne, who was honoured six times between 1963 and 1981.

History

Telefís Éireann was launched as Ireland's first indigenous television station on 31 December 1961. Three months later, it was announced by W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd. that they intended to sponsor an award for outstanding contributions to the new medium. On 4 December 1962, the first awards ceremony took place at the sponsor's headquarters in Dublin. There were nine winners, chosen by a panel of national newspaper television critics. Each winner received an award designed by the artist, Richard Kingston. This consisted of a silver St. Brigid's Cross mounted on a base of bog oak and Connemara marble. The Jacob's Awards honoured teams of programme makers as well as individuals. For instance, in 1962, Telefís Éireann's Sports Department won an award for its general coverage during the station's first year of broadcasting. In 1965, a limit of eight annual awards was set, and the critics also decided not to confine themselves to fixed categories in making their selections. A special 'Golden Trophy' was introduced in 1966 to recognise exceptional performance. This was awarded every five years, although it was dropped in the mid-1980s. In 1969, the number of awards was increased to a maximum of thirteen in order to incorporate radio. A separate panel of national newspaper radio critics was formed to choose recipients of the new award, a highly polished, white metal cylinder designed by Robert Costelloe. This was replaced in 1981 by a trophy comprising a painted canvas mounted on a stainless steel background, designed by Theo McNab. For most of their history, Jacob's Awards were awarded to programmes broadcast on RTÉ because the national state broadcaster held a monopoly in Ireland. However, in 1989, commercial radio was introduced, and RTÉ's monopoly in sound broadcasting was broken. The critics responded by widening the scope of the awards to include the new local stations. RTÉ did not face indigenous competition in television until the advent of TV3 in 1998, by which time the Jacob's Awards had ended.

Awards ceremony

In the 30 years of its existence, compères of the annual Jacob's Awards event included Hilton Edwards and Frank Hall. Winners were presented with their awards by a senior member of the Irish government, sometimes the taoiseach of the day (Jack Lynch in 1977, for example). Due to the "economic circumstances of the sponsoring company", the 1983 and 1984 awards were presented at a single event, which took place on 22 February 1985. What turned out to be the final awards ceremony took place in Dublin on 11 November 1993. The Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Michael D. Higgins, presented the awards on that occasion. No formal announcement was made by the sponsor about the future of the awards so the reason they were terminated is unknown. However, the death of public relations consultant and radio presenter, Frankie Byrne, shortly after the 1993 event may have been a factor. From the inception of the awards, each of the annual presentation events was organised and promoted by Byrne. According to former Jacob's chairman, Gordon Lambert, she actually started the awards in 1962 and her role in their eventual longevity seems to have been crucial. This is borne out by the fact that no ceremonies took place following Byrne's death in December 1993. Recalling her involvement in the awards five years after her death, television critic Tom O'Dea summed up her unique contribution: "I think it is no skin off anyone's nose to accord her the distinction of giving the awards night the character it had, wheelchairs for the irretrievably drunken, and all."

Controversy

The 1970 awards were attended by some controversy. Eoghan Harris refused to accept an award for his production of the Irish-language current affairs programme, Féach. In a statement issued on the day of the awards ceremony, Harris criticised RTÉ for its involvement with commercial sponsorship. However, five years later his attitude changed and he accepted a second award for a special report on 7 Days. Also in 1970, guests arriving at the awards ceremony were confronted by a picket of 50 female employees of W. & R. Jacob who were protesting against the cost of the banquet. One picketer carried a placard bearing the legend: "Only room at the inn for the in-people". In 1990, RTÉ threatened to pull out of its longstanding practice of broadcasting the awards ceremony because of the involvement of Tánaiste, Brian Lenihan. Lenihan had been invited to present the awards in his capacity as Tánaiste and Minister of Defence. However, in the meantime, he was chosen by Fianna Fáil as that party's candidate in the forthcoming Irish presidential election. RTÉ claimed that going ahead with its planned broadcast would give unfair additional publicity to Lenihan, leaving the station in breach of its own guidelines on election coverage. After a brief stand-off, Lenihan agreed to withdraw from the awards ceremony. He was replaced by Minister for Labour, Bertie Ahern.

Winners – multiple awards

Six

Four

Three

Two

Winners – full details

1960s

1962

Television

1963

Television

1964

Television

1965

Television

1966

Television Golden Trophy

1967

Television

1968

Television

1969

Radio Television

1970s

1970

Radio Television

1971

Radio Television Golden Trophy

1972

Radio Television

1973

Radio Television

1974

Radio Television

1975

Radio Television

1976

Radio Television Golden Trophy

1977

Radio Television

1978

Radio Television

1979

Radio Television

1980s

1980

Radio Television

1981

Radio Television Golden Trophy

1982

Radio Television

1983

Radio Television

1984

Radio Television

1985

Radio Television

1986

Radio Television

1987

1988

Radio Television

1989

Radio Television

1990s

1990

Radio Television

1991

Radio Television

1992

Radio Television

1993

Radio Television