IRISH TIMES photographers won six awards at the Eircell PPAI Press Photographers' Awards in Dublin last night, including the 1996 Photographer of the Year Award.
The 1996 Photographer of the Year is Frank Miller, who also won first and third prizes in the Features category, second prize in the Sport category and second prize in the Arts section.
Alan Betson of The Irish Times won first prize in the Arts category, while David Sleator, a freelance photographer who contributes to The Irish Times, won second prize in the News category and another second placing in the Features category.
Some 94 photographers entered almost 1,000 prints for this year's awards.
Presenting the prizes, the Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Spring, said it was healthy in a democracy that there should be a constructive tension between the press and politicians. However, Mr Spring added, a form of journalism which invades the private lives of politicians or other public figures and their families was by its nature offensive.
He said this "new journalism" appeared to work on the basis that if politicians wanted privacy, they would not have become public figures in the first instance
"I find the new journalism which regards the politician and his family as fair game to be completely unacceptable," he added. "As a small country we all know our politicians, who are accessible at virtually all times. Ours is an intimate democracy. It is not appropriate that rather base tactics appropriate to other democracies should be imported here."
Mr Spring said that politicians who must face their electorate regularly were accountable for their activities in the most basic way.
"Politicians know this and accept it. But their wives, their children, their parents do not stand for election. They do not aspire to or take up public office. They are not public figures and they should not have to endure unwarranted attention. Their privacy should and must be respected," Mr Spring added.
RESULTS:
NEWS: 1, Jim O'Kelly, Irish Independent; 2, David Sleator, freelance/The Irish Times; 3, Padraig O'Reilly, freelance, Dublin.
SPORT: 1, Tom Burke, Irish Independent; 2, Frank Miller, The Irish Times; 3, Kyran O'Brien, Evening Herald.
FEATURES: 1, Frank Miller, The Irish Times; 2, David Sleator, freelance/The Irish Times; 3, Frank Miller, The Irish Times.
PEOPLE: 1, Kate Horgan, freelance, Dublin; 2, John C Kelly, The Clare Champion; 3, Peter Mooney, freelance, Dublin.
INDIVIDUAL STUDY: 1, Bryan O'Brien, Irish Independent; 2, Laurance Boland, freelance, Dublin; 3, Brendan Murphy, Irish News.
ARTS: 1, Alan Betson, The Irish Times; 2, Frank Miller, The Irish Times; 3, Billy Stickland, Inpho.
PICTURE ESSAY: 1, Eamon Ward, The Clare Champion; 2, Billy Stickland, Inpho; 3, Alan O'Connor Katz Pictures.
The entries were judged by Mr Jim Connor, pictures editor, the Herald (Glasgow), Mr David Swanborough, pictures editor, the Independent (London) and Mr Trevor Scott, former head of art and photography at Dun Laoghaire College of Art.