Between them, the three press photographers can boast 121 years in the newspaper business. They've all retired but today, Frank McGrath, Douglas E. Duggan and Gerry O'Gorman have come along to view the work of the winners in this year's Eircell Press Photographers Association of Ireland Awards.
"The talent is incredible today," says McGrath, who hung up his camera last year after 37 years in the newspaper business. He views all the images along the walls of the Gallery of Photography in Dublin's Temple Bar. No, he says, the urge to click the shutter and capture an image never leaves you. One of the youngest fans at the exhibition is four-month-old Oz Russell, who is with his mother Nicki Cheevers, his aunt, Rebecca Gettins and her friend Stephen Pigott. Sile Boardman, from Quebec city in Canada, has her portfolio in tow, just in case she meets a commissioning editor, as she's hoping to make some contacts. The Eircell Press Photographer of the Year, Bryan O'Brien of The Irish Times, is here, unfazed at this stage by all the attention. Also spotted are colleagues David Sleator, president of the PPAI; Dara Mac Donaill and Frank Miller. The exhibition will be at the Gallery of Photography until Saturday, April 1st. The winning pictures in the competition, which has been running for 21 years, will also be displayed at festivals around the country during the year.