Every week we take a look at some of the stories sent through MediaHQ’s press release distribution tool and post some of the best covered ones in a weekly blog. For this week, Barnardos, Forsa, daa plc and Thinkhouse made it to the top of our list.
1) Barnardos
Title: Media Release: Barnardos welcomes planned roll out of hot school meals programme
Author: Ciara Courtney
Email delivery rate: 100%
Time of release: 09:23 on 30th March
Coverage Examples:
0.03.23 Minister Humphrey’s recognition that free hot school meals should be provided to all primary schoolchildren by 2030 is extremely welcome and will make a real difference to the lives of many children across the country.
Barnardos knows from families we support that free school meals can have a real benefit on children in receipt of the programme, helping with classroom concentration and improving school attendance rates.
At a time when some parents are having to skip meals and are constantly worried about being able to provide their children with sufficient food these plans could make a real difference going forward. It will help relieve pressure on families and also ensure that children will get at least one nutritious meal a day.
From our own work, we know that not all children living in poverty and experiencing deprivation attend DEIS schools, so the target of a free hot school meal for every primary school child by 2030 is extremely welcome.
Going forward it is important to next tackle holiday hunger, looking at steps the government can take to address those periods when children are not in school, potentially extending meals programme to existing community services and local organisations where possible.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Barnardos Press Office: 01 7080442 / 086 0445966
Facebook: barnardosireland
Twitter: @Barnardos_IRL
Instagram: @barnardos_irl
2) Forsa
Title: The union has advised the RSA that the instruction has been issued due to serious health and safety concern for the union’s driver tester members.
Author: Niall Shanahan
Email delivery rate: 98%
Time of release: 16:34 on the 27th March
Coverage Examples:
Media release from Fórsa trade union
Fórsa instructs RSA driver testers to conduct driving tests only in vehicles carrying valid NCT
For immediate release Monday 27th March 2023
Fórsa trade union, which represents driver testers at the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has instructed testers that, from today (Monday), they should only conduct a driving test in a vehicle carrying a valid NCT.
Fórsa continues to seek a reversion to the requirement that cars presented by a customer for a driving test require a valid NCT certificate, a requirement temporarily suspended due to delays caused by Covid.
The RSA has continued to instruct driver testers to waive this requirement if a car presented for a test does not have a valid NCT certificate.
The union has advised the RSA that the instruction has been issued due to serious health and safety concern for the union’s driver tester members.
Fórsa has been raising the NCT issue with the RSA since November 2022, and the matter remains unresolved despite a number of engagements over the four-month period.
Fórsa also raised the matter at the State Agencies Oversight Body meeting held last week (Thursday 23rd March), and subsequently issued a written instruction to driver tester members to conduct driving tests only in vehicles carrying valid NCT certificate.
In a letter issued to RSA management today (Monday), Fórsa assistant general secretary Derek Kelleher said: “This is a health and safety issue for our members, as the vehicle a customer presents for their test becomes the RSA staff member's workplace.
“The only way of ensuring that a vehicle is safe and roadworthy is when it has a valid NCT certificate. Without this, it is difficult to ascertain the health and safety risks to our members if they are forced to carry out their work in a vehicle that does not have the certificate.
“Ultimately, they do not know what risk this poses to their safety, and limiting tests to vehicles that have a valid NCT helps mitigate the risk.
“Instructing our members to only conduct a driving test in a vehicle with a valid NCT is a reasonably practicable way of increasing their safety at work, and aligns with the General Principles of Prevention within the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005,” he said.
Fórsa had advised driver tester members last November, on health and safety grounds, to adhere to the RSA protocol that all vehicles presented for a driving test must display a valid NCT certificate.
ENDS
Media contacts:
- Derek Kelleher, assistant general secretary, Fórsa – 087 204 4575
- Niall Shanahan, media relations, Fórsa - 087 264 8092
3) daa plc
Title: Cork Airport Switches To Holiday Mode As 2023 Summer Schedule Takes Off
Author: Barry Holland
Email delivery rate: 99%
Time of release: 06:30 on the 28th March
Coverage Examples:
For Immediate Release
March 28, 2023
Cork Airport Switches To Holiday Mode As 2023 Summer Schedule Takes Off
- With 44 routes, operated by 8 scheduled airlines, Cork Airport offers the best selection of summer destinations in the South of Ireland.
- 1.2 million seats will be on sale from now until late October 2023, with additional seats and increased frequencies on 13 routes.
- New summer routes to Seville, La Rochelle, Bristol, East Midlands, Venice Treviso, and Rome Fiumicino complement the most extensive summer schedule in four years at Ireland’s second busiest airport.
- Superb European hub connectivity to London Heathrow, Amsterdam Schiphol, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Frankfurt will underpin a very extensive route offering.
- With car parking on the doorstep, swift security queues and a short walk to the gate, passengers from Munster and the South of Ireland will “love taking off” from Cork Airport this summer.
Cork Airport — March 28, 2023 — Cork Airport has officially launched its 2023 Summer Schedule which includes 1.2 million seats across 44 scheduled routes, operated by 8 airlines. With over 2.5 million passengers forecasted to travel through the busiest airport in the South of Ireland this year, passengers in counties Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Limerick, Clare, Tipperary and throughout South Leinster have the best choice of destinations for that long-awaited summer holiday. The 2023 Summer Schedule is now operational and will run until October 29, 2023.
This summer, Ryanair will operate their largest ever summer schedule at Cork Airport, with 29 routes to choose from. Of these, five are new summer routes – with twice-weekly services to Seville, La Rochelle, Venice Treviso and Rome Fiumicino along with a three-times weekly service to East Midlands. Ryanair will also operate increased frequencies on 11 routes this summer - London Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Lanzarote, Malaga, Faro, Alicante, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona Reus, and Bordeaux.
Aer Lingus has resumed services to Faro and Malaga, while services to Dubrovnik and Palma de Mallorca will recommence in May. Aer Lingus has increased frequencies on the Malaga and Faro routes from Cork Airport this summer, with the airline operating a daily service to Malaga and a six-times weekly service to Faro in the months of July and August. Aer Lingus will also maintain key European hub connectivity to Amsterdam Schiphol (six-times weekly with two services on Monday, Friday, and Sunday) and London-Heathrow, with a four-times-daily service to the latter.
Last Sunday, Cork Airport welcomed the eagerly anticipated return of Air France, operating a daily service to Paris Charles de Gaulle, providing direct air access to the French capital and superb onward connectivity across the wider Air France global network. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will operate a twice-daily service to Amsterdam Schiphol while Lufthansa and SWISS International Air Lines (operated by Edelweiss) will return in April, operating services to Frankfurt and Zurich respectively, complementing the range of European flag carriers that are operating at Ireland’s second busiest airport.
Aer Lingus Regional will restore important connectivity to the south-west of the UK as it commences a six-times weekly service to Bristol. This new service, operated by Emerald Airlines will provide great access for passengers across the South of Ireland to Bristol, Bath, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Wiltshire, the West Country as well as Wales.
For sun worshippers, Cork Airport offers a great selection of routes to some of Europe’s most popular sun hotspots – including Ryanair services to Sardinia (Alghero), Valencia, Tenerife, Alicante, Pisa, and Aer Lingus’ services to Dubrovnik and Lanzarote.
Speaking at the launch of the Cork Airport 2023 Summer Schedule, Head of Aviation Business Development, Tara Finn said: “We have an incredibly jam-packed summer schedule on offer at Cork Airport this year. With 44 routes across the UK and Continental Europe, there is superb choice to be had from Ireland’s second-busiest airport. The highlights of this year’s extensive summer schedule are new routes to great destinations such as Seville, La Rochelle, Rome, and Venice Treviso along with increased frequencies on no less than 13 routes. Business passengers will be well catered for this summer, with the return of services to Frankfurt with Lufthansa, twice-daily services to Amsterdam Schiphol with KLM and the much-anticipated return of a daily service to Paris Charles de Gaulle with Air France.”
Managing Director at Cork Airport, Niall MacCarthy added: “We have a great team in Cork Airport, working hard every day to make your passenger journey easier. We strive to provide friendly service, in a spotlessly clean building with short, easy security queues, friendly greetings upon your return trip and fast baggage return to get you on your way quickly. Our travel advisory remains to arrive 90 minutes before your flight, and we will see you safely on your way. If you have not tried Cork Airport in a while for your family summer holiday, give it a try this year. ”
Passengers planning to fly from Cork Airport this summer are advised to arrive at least 90 minutes before their flight departure time to allow for a hassle-free airport experience. Since the start of the year, an average of 96% of passengers have cleared security in less than 15 minutes. Cork Airport has consistently ranked highly for customer service, with recent, independent market research showing that passengers gave a high score of 4.7/5.0 for customer satisfaction.
For a full list of destinations this summer, check out corkairport.com.
ENDS
For more information, contact:
Barry Holland
Communications Manager, Cork Airport
barry.holland@corkairport.com
(087) 3539917
Kathleen Walshe
Communications Specialist, Cork Airport
kathleen.walshe@corkairport.com
(087) 9389769
Notes to Editor:
BL1_8654; BL1_8624; BL1_8678
Pictured at Cork Airport to mark the commencement of the 2023 Summer Schedule are brother and sister Nathan (8) and Robyn Lougheed (5), all set to take-off on their summer holidays. Also included are Tara Finn, Head of Aviation Business Development, Cork Airport; Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director, Cork Airport and the Cork Airport mascot. This summer, 1.2 million seats will be available across 44 scheduled routes from Munster’s busiest and best-connected airport. (Pic: Brian Lougheed)
BL1_8726
Pictured at Cork Airport to mark the commencement of the 2023 Summer Schedule are brother and sister Nathan (8) and Robyn Lougheed (5), all set to take-off on their summer holidays. Also included are Tara Finn, Head of Aviation Business Development, Cork Airport; Emma De Gallo, Operations Intern, Cork Airport and the Cork Airport mascot. This summer, 1.2 million seats will be available across 44 scheduled routes from Munster’s busiest and best-connected airport. (Pic: Brian Lougheed)
The full list of routes operated as part of the Cork Airport 2023 Summer Schedule are:
Destination
Airline
Alghero (Sardinia)
Ryanair
Alicante
Ryanair
Amsterdam Schiphol
Aer Lingus
Amsterdam Schiphol
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Birmingham
Ryanair
Bordeaux
Ryanair
Bristol
Aer Lingus Regional
Carcassonne
Ryanair
Dubrovnik
Aer Lingus
East Midlands
Ryanair
Edinburgh
Ryanair
Faro
Aer Lingus
Faro
Ryanair
Frankfurt
Lufthansa
Gdansk
Ryanair
Girona
Ryanair
Gran Canaria
Ryanair
La Rochelle
Ryanair
Lanzarote
Aer Lingus
Lanzarote
Ryanair
Lanzarote
TUI
Liverpool
Ryanair
London Gatwick
Ryanair
London Heathrow
Aer Lingus
London Luton
Ryanair
London Stansted
Ryanair
Malaga
Aer Lingus
Malaga
Ryanair
Manchester
Ryanair
Milan Bergamo
Ryanair
Palma de Mallorca
Aer Lingus
Palma de Mallorca
Ryanair
Palma de Mallorca
TUI
Paris Charles de Gaulle
Air France
Pisa
Ryanair
Poznan
Ryanair
Reus
Ryanair
Reus
TUI
Rome Fiumicino
Ryanair
Seville
Ryanair
Tenerife
Ryanair
Valencia
Ryanair
Venice Treviso
Ryanair
Zurich
Edelweiss
Increased frequencies/additional seat capacity will be available on routes to:
Ryanair
London Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Lanzarote, Malaga, Faro, Alicante, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona Reus, and Bordeaux.
Aer Lingus
Faro, Malaga
4) Thinkhouse
Title: Barry's Tea ‘We Make the Tea, You Make the Art’ campaign
Author: Niamh Hoy
Email delivery rate: 99%
Time of release: 09:43 on the 27th March
Coverage Examples:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Barry’s Tea Hot Drop We’ve All Been Waiting For…
Barry’s Tea launch a limited edition merch collab with artist Claire Prouvost to celebrate their ‘We Make the Tea, You Make the Art’ campaign, that shines a light on artists.
Iconic Irish brand Barry’s Tea have collaborated with artist Claire Prouvost to create an engaging piece of art inspired by the nation's love of Barry’s Tea. This beautiful piece will be on billboards across the country and is also being turned into a limited edition Barry’s Tea branded crew neck sweatshirt - perfect for the Barry’s Tea super fan in your life.
The abstract design ‘Homecoming’ can be interpreted as a mother and daughter or two pals enjoying a cup of tea, enjoying that beautifully simple moment sitting at the kitchen table and catching up with a loved one. A very limited amount of these exclusive Barry’s Tea crew necks will be available to buy at a through the Barry’s Tea website - https://www.barrysteashop.ie/ for €24.99, available now- you’ll have to be quick though, so get 'em while they’re hot!
This exciting collaboration is to celebrate and spread Barry’s Tea ‘We Make the Tea, You Make the Art’ campaign message which calls on budding amateur artists to submit their Barry’s Tea fan art to be in with a chance of winning a very exciting prize - the winner will have their Barry’s Tea fan art turned into limited editionumpers crew neck sweatshirt and blown up onto a show stopping billboard as well as a cash prize of €1,000 plus their artwork will be used in national OOH and social media campaigns. Prizes will also be awarded for second and third place. The aim of the ‘We Make the Tea, You Make the Art’ competition is to help shine a light on up and coming Irish artists while saying thank you to Barry’s Tea superfans nationwide.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Artist Claire Prouvost said “As a tea lover I was delighted when Barry’s Tea got in touch about this campaign. I’ve been an artist for many years and know first hand how difficult it is to break into the industry. The ‘We make the tea, you make the art’ competition is the perfect opportunity for new and up and coming artists to showcase their work while gaining incredible exposure. I know my younger self would have jumped at the opportunity to get my name out there”.
For a chance to see your art turned into merch and and blown up on a billboard
Get your hands on the limited edition Barry’s Tea merch HERE
ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD HERE
Social Links & Hashtag:
- Claire Prouvost Instagram
- #WeMaketheTeaYouMaketheArt
- Barry's Tea Instagram
- Barry's Tea Facebook
- Barry's Tea Twitter
- Barry's Tea Tik Tok
Barry’s Tea is widely available in supermarkets nationwide.
-ENDS-
ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD HERE:
PHOTOCAPTION
To celebrate the launch of the Barry’s Tea ‘We Make the Tea, You Make the Art’ campaign, Ireland’s iconic tea brand partnered up with talented artist Claire Prouvost to create a beautiful Barry’s Tea inspired design that has been made into limited edition merch and OOH billboards. The campaign aims to shine a light on up and coming artists, giving them the opportunity to have their own Barry’s Tea Fan Art made into exclusive merch, an OOH billboard and a cash prize.
ABOUT BARRY’S TEA
Barry’s Tea is an uplifting, aspirational, genuinely Irish, contemporary, comforting brand. We drive connections and connections live in the heart. As such, we speak from the heart. Our tone of voice is imbued with a sense of caring, love and warmth. Our tea is of the very best quality and our messaging reflects our positioning as a premium tea brand. Finally, we are a proud, authentic Irish brand and an independent family run business since 1901.
ABOUT CLAIRE PROUVOST
Claire is a mural and abstract artist living here in Ireland. Her colourful, bold and minimal style is inspired by the cubist art movement. Claire has mastered various mediums such as digital illustration, acrylic painting to large-scale murals and street art. She likes to explore the complexity of relationships and human interactions, telling stories through deconstructed figures, intuitive lines and expressive colourful shapes. Her art is often inspired by everyday life. Known for her drawings of charismatic women in a bold, pop and minimalist style, Claire has worked with the likes of Gucci, Lavazza, Guinness, Brown Thomas and now Barry’s Tea.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Niamh Hoy | niamh.hoy@thinkhousehq.com | 087 692 2964
About MediaHQ
Designed for PR and Communications teams, MediaHQ is the all-in-one media contacts database and press release distribution software with the mission to connect your story with your audience.
It was founded by entrepreneur Jack Murray in 2009. Our cutting-edge software is the best, fastest and most accurate way to find the right journalists, build media and pitch lists in seconds, send press releases and get results.
The comprehensive MediaHQ database lists the details of over 60,000 journalists and media outlets across Ireland and the UK and is full of time-saving features.
