Irish Examiner photographer snaps up prestigious award

The Irish Examiner’s Denis Minihane was among the winners at last night’s AIB Photojournalism Awards.

Denis’s eye-catching photograph entitled ‘Nord-Man Fir’ secured second prize in the Nature and Environment Category at the awards ceremony, run by the Press Photographers Association of Ireland (PPAI) to mark the best photojournalism in the country.

The evocative picture, showing a man carrying the fir tree in Co Tipperary, was hailed by judges as “a curious and amusing photograph about a familiar environmental issue”.

Prizes were awarded in 10 categories, including news, sports, politics, and reportage.

Irish Examiner editor Tim Vaughan said of Denis’s success: “I am really delighted for Denis, who has been one of the best photographers in the country for many years.

“His achievement also underlines our commitment to top quality photography in the Irish Examiner.” Denis Minihane said he was delighted with the award from his peers.

First prize in the Nature and Environment category went to Marc O’Sullivan of Marc O’Sullivan Photography for his picture ‘Antler Sunset’.

Photographer of the Year went to Mark Condren of the Irish Independent, who also won the Reportage category.

The PPAI judging panel said the entries reflected “a fantastic collection of images and a historic record of 2012, created by members of the association”.

“The difficulty in choosing a winner in each category was entirely down to the high quality of entries.”