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Sunday Tribune photographer, Mark Condren, has been named as the country’s top photojournalist.

The 31-year-old from Castletownroche, Co Cork, was named Press Photographers’ Association of Ireland AIB Photojournalist of the Year 2009 at a ceremony in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin.

Judges said Condren’s entry was “everything you would want in a prize winning press photography portfolio”.

“The photographs are strong on all aspects of the craft but crucially they also manage to tell the story and give the news with an eye to creating something different, and lasting,” judges said.

A record 2,000 images from 130 photographers around the country were entered in the competition. Prizes were awarded in the categories of News, Features, Sports Action, Sports Features, People, Individual Study, The Arts, Politics and Picture Story, with a special award for Humour.

The difficult task of judging was undertaken by chairwoman Bride Rosney, Danish photographer and former World Press Photo judge Per Folkver and award winning photographer Seamus Murphy.

An exhibition of 112 images from the competition will tour the country through branches of AIB.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Robbie Henneberry, managing director of AIB said the images provided a powerful visual record of the year that was. And they did not just capture events, he said, but captured the effect and impact of those events on people.

“The AIB Photojournalism Awards highlight and reward the tremendous talents of Ireland’s press photographers. The touring exhibition, which includes 112 images, allows us to showcase these talents to a nationwide audience, through our branch network. On behalf of AIB, I would like to congratulate Mark, on being named the AIB Photojournalist of the Year 2009,” he said.

David Sleator, president of the Press Photographers Association of Ireland, said many thousands of people saw last year’s exhibition and this year, the association hoped to reach an even wider audience through a serious master classes on how photojournalists work.

He also said the association’s recent book “Beyond the Moment; Irish Photojournalism in our Time” was a great success and raised over €40,000 for Fighting Blindness.

“I wish to congratulate my colleague Mark for his achievements and contribution to photojournalism in Ireland,” he said.

“The overall quality of Mark’s pictures is exemplary, with each topic handled with both sensitivity and creativity. Mark is a well-respected member of our profession and his dedication and commitment have been well rewarded.”