PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2019 AWARDS ANNOUNCED

The overall title of Press Photographer of the Year 2019 was awarded to Tom Honan, a Dublin-based freelance, who works primarily for the Irish Times and Irish Mail on Sunday. Tom also picked up four individual category awards.
Awards were presented across nine stills categories and a prize was also given for the best multi-media entry. The categories were: News, Daily Life and People, Arts and Entertainment, Portrait, Politics, Sports Action, Sports Feature, Nature and Environment and Reportage.
The judging panel was chaired by former Irish Times picture editor Dermot O’Shea and the judges were former international photojournalists Eamonn McCabe and Jim Connor. The multi-media entries were judged by retired RTE cameraman Michael Lee and Philip Bromwell, RTE video journalist.
Commenting on Tom’s portfolio the judges said;
“With four category awards …and a comprehensive and visually imaginative range, this person displayed their ability across a wide array of subjects, essential to the art of press photography. The editing and presentation displayed the photographer’s commitment to the quality of the work, a sign of true professionalism. This collection stood out from the rest of the entries by a long way and proved the author to be a deserving winner of the overall title of PPAI Press Photographer of the Year 2019.”
Crispin Rodwell, president of the PPAI said; “Tom Honan is a very deserving winner of the highest accolade the industry here can award. In an age of fake news and doctored images, the critical importance of good photojournalism has never been greater. Ireland’s press photographers serve a crucial role in documenting the life of the country and putting in place the building blocks of our visual archive. As with other year this collection will be properly stored for the benefit of future generations. Good photography never ages, but enriches a nation’s history.”
The gala awards ceremony also saw the conferring of three honorary memberships of the Press Photographers Association of Ireland, for outstanding contribution to the association and press photography in Ireland - these went to; Liam Burke, Press 22, Tony O’Gorman, former photographer with the Irish Farmer’s Journal and freelance photographer, Ian Esptein.
The Press Photographers Association of Ireland ‘Press Photographer of the Year 2019’ Exhibition, featuring 101 prints, will be available to view at the RDS, Dublin Airport and a number of other locations throughout the country. Please visit
www.ppai.ie for exhibition tour updates and to view the full collection of winning and highly commended images.