Ireland Press Awards Beijing Paralympic Photography

The photo, with the title “Winning Embrace”, included Australia’s Paralympic athlete Heath Francis congratulating Papua New Guinea’s Francis Kompaon after the Men’s 100m (T46) final. Francis took first place in the race, with Kompaon coming in second.

Brian Lawless was the official photographer of the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Ireland, and the award creates a great deal of awareness and recognition of Paralympic Sport and the incredible emotive qualities behind it. A record 1,650 images were submitted for this year's competition, from 121 photographers.

The PPAI was founded almost 30 years ago by working press photographers in Ireland. One of the PPAI's aims is to promote press photography on a national and international basis through its Annual Photographic Awards sponsored by Allied Irish Banks (AIB), which celebrate the best in Irish Press Photography and showcases all aspects of Irish life in Ireland today through its travelling exhibition.

Reflecting the abundance of talent amongst Press Photographers in Ireland, the standard of work aims to provide an unmatched pictorial record of Ireland throughout each year including many unforgettable events and moments.

For more information about the PPAI and the Awards, please visit www.ppai.ie.