Top INM photojournalist named photographer of the year

One of Mark's winning photos shows Taoiseach Leo Varadkar sheltering from the rain during the naming ceremony for the new Naval Service vessel LE George Bernard Shaw on the Frank Cassin Wharf in Waterford. Also in the shot is Emily Byrne and her father Sean. Emily, from Co Waterford, was placed on an 'immediate' list for a liver transplant at only five months old. Photo: Mark Condren

Wayne O'Connor

March 01 2020 02:30 AM

INM photographer Mark Condren has been named press photographer of the year for a fifth time at the Press Photographers Association of Ireland (PPAI) awards.

The Cork native also won in the political category and claimed the top award for a portrait photograph at the awards event last Friday night. He won the multi-media award for his short film Prison to Pro, a young father's story about life after jail and becoming a tri-athlete.

Editor of the Irish Independent and Independent.ie Cormac Bourke said: "The consistency of Mark Condren's work is remarkable and the recognition he has received in winning press photographer of the year for a fifth time is thoroughly deserved. Congratulations to Mark and to all the winners ."

Mark's award-winning political photograph captured Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as part of a gathering at the naming ceremony for a new naval vessel in Waterford last year. His prize-winning portrait showed firefighter and open-water swimmer Rachel Lee, holder of the Irish record for men and women for crossing the English Channel.