The stories behind well-known images of Samuel Beckett and Lady Diana Spencer by Irish photographer John Minihan are to feature at a new festival in Kinsale, Co Cork, this month.
The Big Picture Festival of Press Photography, running from October 20th to October 22nd, is being organised by the Press Photographers Association of Ireland.
Minihan was born in Athy, Co Kildare, before being brought to London at the age of 12, where he became an apprentice photographer for the Daily Mail. After 30 years in London he returned to Ireland where he documented life around his hometown.
Minihan’s study of Beckett, a Nobel Prize winner, has been described as one of the greatest photographs of the 20th century, while his picture of Diana was the first image captured of the then fiancée of Prince Charle, who went on to become the British king.
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Other featured photographers to be presented at the festival include those of the Irish Independent’s Mark Condren, who recently won the AIB Press Photographer of the Year for a record sixth time.
Dan Linehan, event co-ordinator and a member of Press Photographers Association of Ireland, said there was an “incredible line-up of speakers and activities”.
“You don’t need to be a photographer to enjoy this festival – anyone who enjoys strong visual stories of the world around us will find this programme worthwhile.”
