The camera club’s exhibition, which opened in Mallow Primary Healthcare, on 8th December is proving to be a great success. There are over 150 images on display, all showing some of the latest work by club members.

At the opening of the exhibition, the club chairman said that it was an evening to celebrate great achievement in Mallow CC over the past year. SNine members had achieved their LIPFs, three had gained their Associateships and one had achieved Fellowship status. In that time also, club members won numerous gold, silver and bronze medals in Irish competitive events and two have won ten gold medals in international competition. Members of the club had achieved over 750 acceptances in International competition over the past year, he said, their images had been exhibited in dozens of countries including India, Ukraine, the UK, France, Germany, Finland, Holland, Bosnia and Italy.

‘Everyone is a photographer these days because everyone has either a camera phone, iPad or DSLR,’ he said. ‘Our club is about encouraging and helping people to improve their photography.’

John Doheny, one of the founders of the club in 1986, talked about how the club had contributed enormously to Mallow. Some members, such as Mark Conderan has gone on to become press photographer of the year on several occasions. At present, he said, the club membership came from all over North Cork, including Mitchelstown, Fermoy, Donoughmore, Rockchapel, Kanturk and Tullylease, as well as Cork and Bruff, County Limerick.

‘We’re a friendly club made up of people who enjoy photography,’ he said. ‘We are rooted in the community and we have established ourtselves firmly in Mallow over the past 28 years.

The exhibition was formally opened by Cllr John Paul O’Shea, chairman of the Kanturk Mallow Municipal District of Cork County Council. Cllr O’Shea said that the quality and variety of photography on display in the exhibition was staggering. ‘This is a fantastic exhibition of talent from around Mallow,’ he said.

Images from the exhibition will appear once we get our hands on them from John Doheny and Pat Sheehan, who were our ‘official papparazzi’ for the night.’