Alan Betson, of The Irish Times, was last night named AIB Press Photographer of the Year 2004 at the annual AIB/Press Photographers Association of Ireland awards in Dublin.
It is the second time he has won the overall award. The awards acknowledge the most interesting and creative Irish press photographs from the past year.
This year almost 1,700 photos from over 100 photographers North and South were entered. The judges included chairwoman Bride Rosney (Director of Communications, RTÉ), Mark Bealing (Picture Editor, Time Magazine, London) and Mr Rob Taggart (Picture Editor, Associated Press London).
Apart from the main award of Photographer of the Year, prizes were awarded in the categories of News, Features, Sports Action, Sports Features, People, Individual Study, The Arts, Politics, Picture Story and Humour.
The judges said that Alan Betson's work displayed the skill and talent to produce strong images, often from what could be considered routine situations, combined with the unique ability to capture the moment expertly.
Mr Donal Forde, AIB managing director, said: "Once again, I am in awe of the level of talent amongst Irish press photographers and admire their distinctive ability to capture everyday emotions at any given moment in time."
An AIB/PPAI exhibition, featuring over 110 prints from the competition, opens in AIB South Mall, Cork, this Tuesday.
The exhibition will later visit over 20 AIB branches throughout the State and some overseas venues. Masterclasses for photography students will be held in Cork and Dublin.
The full list of awards were:
NEWS: 1, Mark Condren, the Sunday Tribune; 2, Gerry Mooney, Evening Herald; 3, Gary Ashe, Allpix/the Star
FEATURES: 1, Brendan Murphy, Irish News; 2, Steve Humphreys, Irish Independent; 3, Jim O'Kelly, Irish Independent
SPORTS ACTION: 1, Alan Betson, The Irish Times; 2, Des Barry, Irish Examiner; 3, Andrew Paton, Inpho Photography
SPORTS FEATURES: 1, Lorraine O'Sullivan, Inpho Photography; 2, Michelle Cooper-Galvin, freelance; 3, Billy Stickland, Inpho.
INDIVIDUAL STUDY: 1, Frank Miller, The Irish Times; 2, Patrick Bolger, freelance; 3, Brendan Murphy, Irish News.
PEOPLE: 1, Steve Humphreys, Irish Independent; 2, Eamon Ward, the Clare Champion; 3, Steve Humphreys, Irish Independent.
POLITICS: 1, Brenda Fitzsimons, The Irish Times; 2, Denis Minihane, Irish Examiner; 3, Alan Betson, The Irish Times.
THE ARTS: 1, Gerard McCarthy, GMC Photography; 2, Julien Behal, Freelance/Sunday Independent; 3, Steve Humphreys, Irish Independent
PICTURE STORY: 1, Eamon Ward, the Clare Champion; 2, Dara Mac Dónaill, The Irish Times; 3, Eamon Ward, the Clare Champion.
HUMOUR AWARD: Dan Linehan, Irish Examiner.