*Eamon Ward.
TWO CLARE PHOTOGRAPHERS scooped awards in Dublin at the weekend.
Mullagh native John Kelly who has been a staff photographer with The Clare Champion for thirty two years and freelance photographer Eamon Ward were both honoured at the Press Photographers Association of Ireland awards.
Kelly claimed second prize in the ‘Daily Life and People’ category of the press photography awards which were sponsored by AIB. His photograph titled ‘Beggar at the Dior Step’ was taken in Paris last November.
Judges said of John’s submission, “This photo is incredibly poignant. The juxtaposition of the darkly dressed woman against the window full of expensive white outfits encapsulates the huge economic divide between the rich and poor”.
Delighted to have won 2nd prize in the Daily Life & People category at The AIB PPAI Awards tonight with “BEGGAR AT THE DIOR-STEP” shot last November while attending Paris Photo in France. PPAIAWARDS #CapturingHistory @AIBIreland @ClareChampion #streetphotography #Backedbyaib pic.twitter.com/b9a39fknvg
— John Kelly (@jkphoto68) March 3, 2023
Ennis’ Eamon Ward took third prize in the ‘Portrait’ category. ‘Safe Haven’ was the title of his capture which pictured a Ukrainian mother and daughter in Lisdoonvarna after fleeing their native country.
Of Ward’s photographs, the judges remarked, “Another tale of displacement is found in this beautiful and sorrowful portrait of a Ukrainian mother and daughter in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 many women and children fled the country. An estimated 58,000 refugees are currently living in Ireland”.
3rd Portrait – SAFE HAVEN – Eamon Ward, Eamon Ward Photography @EWPhotoMedia #PPAIAWARDS #CapturingHistory @AIBIreland #backedbyAIB pic.twitter.com/yyswFZUd68
— PPAI (@PPAI_IRL) March 3, 2023
Both Kelly and Ward have multiple awards on their respective mantlepieces from their decades working in the industry. The duo previously worked together with The Clare Champion before Eamon was joined The Clare People when it started in June 2005.
An Tánaiste Micheál Martin (FF) attended the event at the RDS, the forty fifth competition organised by the PPAI. Broadcaster, Miriam O’Callaghan was MC on the evening which had an overall trophy and ten different categories rewarded for excellence in Irish press photography. Mark Condren of the Irish Independent/Sunday Independent has won the AIB Press Photographer of the Year 2023 title.
This year’s judging panel was again led by former picture editor of The Irish Times, Frank Miller, International photographer Eddie Keogh, who has over 35 years of experience at the forefront of sports photojournalism and Dublin native Helen Healy who is Head of Pictures at the Financial Times. Philip Bromwell and former RTÉ cameraman Michael Lee joined the judging panel for the multimedia category. The judges had the challenging task of selecting the winning and highly commended images and video from 1,600 entries entered by 100 members of the PPAI members from around Ireland.
