AN ECCENTRIC online writer known only as "Twenty Major" was the big winner as the internet community gathered in Dublin on Saturday night for the Irish Blog Awards.
The event, now in its third year, seeks to recognise the efforts and ability of those Irish men and women who post their thoughts about an array of topics online.
This year, awards were presented in 21 categories, including best photo blog, best business blog, best use of the Irish language and best music blog.
"Twenty Major" received the award for best blog for the third consecutive year and he also won the most humorous blog post award. The popularity of the anonymous male blogger's website has resulted in a book deal and his first novel, The Order of the Phoenix Park, is in bookshops now.
Weblogs or "blogs" are personal online journals that have become important tools for communicating news, views and ideas.
Irish people have taken a shine to the medium and it is estimated that there are now over 4,000 Irish bloggers, compared to less than 1,500 just two years ago.
The winners of this year's awards ranged in age from 19 to 65 and the judges were all bloggers themselves, who rated some 700 entries ahead of the event.
Damien Mulley, organiser of the awards, said the night was about recognising the efforts of Irish bloggers, whom he believes are "punching above their weight" on the international blog scene.
"I think our bloggers are proving that Ireland is still a land of saints and scholars both online and offline," he said.
The Irish Timesdeputy features editor Shane Hegarty was pleasantly surprised when he won the award for best blog by a journalist.
He said he had been practising his "disappointed face" as he did not expect to win and he hoped the award would justify to his wife the many hours he spends online.
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