'Thank you for this great honour' - Irish pair scoop top architecture prize

An Irish duo have been awarded with architecture's most prestigious prize.

Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara were announced as the winners of the Pritzker prize, an award only won once before by an Irish architect.

The jury citation for the award praised the pair for having an "understanding of how to design complex sections of buildings in such a way that views connect deep interior spaces" and allowing "natural light to penetrate and animate spaces deep inside a building".

Speaking on winning the award, Ms Farrell said: “Architecture could be described as one of the most complex and important cultural activities on the planet.”

To be an architect is an enormous privilege. To win this prize is a wonderful endorsement of our belief in architecture. Thank you for this great honour.

The previous Irish winner was Kevin Roche in 1982 and the pair join only three other female winners of the prize.