UCD graduate Declan Walsh wins Pulitzer Prize for Sudan war coverage
7 May 2025
Irish journalist Declan Walsh has won a coveted Pulitzer Prize for journalism for his coverage of the ongoing civil war in Sudan.
A graduate of BComm International from University College Dublin, and with an MA in Journalism from Dublin City University, the Mayo native is the chief Africa correspondent for the New York Times.
(opens in a new window)He won the prize along with the staff of the newspaper, who were awarded four Pulitzer Prizes for their journalism in 2024, covering such topics as the fentanyl crisis, the US military and the assassination attempt on US president Donald Trump last July.
Among the winning team was follow Irish journalist Cork born photographer Ivor Prickett.
Speaking of the award, Walsh said it was an “immense honour” and that the New York Times had been up “against formidable entries from Wall Street Journal and Washington Post”.
Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prize is regarded as the highest national honour in print journalism.
TFW someone you worked with on a student newspaper in UCD 30 years ago, wins a bloody Pulitzer Prize! Huge congratulations to (opens in a new window)@declanwalsh, fully deserved. (opens in a new window)@UCDObserver (opens in a new window)https://t.co/y4pxlnEQQ8
— Dara Ó Briain (@daraobriain) (opens in a new window)May 6, 2025
Based in Kenya since 2020, UCD alum started his career as a journalist at The Sunday Business Post in 1998.
He travelled widely across sub-Saharan Africa as a freelancer shortly after this period, reporting for the UK’s Independent as well as The Irish Times.
He also wrote for the Times and the Guardian, covering Pakistan and Afghanistan and the Middle East, before joining the New York Times in 2012.
Moving to Islamabad to assume the role of the paper’s Pakistan bureau chief, Walsh was expelled from the country while reporting on its 2013 general election.
Following this expulsion, he assumed the position of Cairo bureau chief for The New York Times after which he moved to Nairobi as the paper's Chief Africa Correspondent.
The Pulitzer Prizes honoured the best reporting from 2024 in 15 categories, as well as eight arts categories focused on books, music and theatre.
A special citation was given to the late journalist Chuck Stone for career achievements that included covering the Civil Rights Movement and co-founding the National Association of Black Journalists.
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
