Sunday World

Sunday World’s “Blind Courage” front page is a remarkably impactful way of telling a shocking and important story – the extraordinary courage of Olivia Creaney, a Craigavon mum of two who stood up to a gangland boss after he blinded her in a brutal attack. 

The paper’s main image was a photograph of Olivia shortly after she was attacked, showing the extent of her injuries. She refused to drop charges of grievous bodily harm, assault, intimidation and possession of a knife, even though crime boss Jim Carlisle (who had 170 previous convictions) issued threats that he would “murder her whole family”. As a result, Olivia and her family had to move out of their home but she did not capitulate under the bullying. She pressed charges which eventually saw Carlisle jailed for his crimes. 

An exclusive interview gave a further insight into the case, with Olivia revealing she had resisted pressure to drop the charges against Carlisle because she wanted her children to know she had done the right thing. It was said judges a “shocking picture and powerful headline which give real impact to this front page exclusive story… a sure winner on the newsstand.”