The honour comes following Mr Condren’s record-breaking seventh win at the annual AIB Press Photographer of the Year Awards.
The Castletownroche man, alongside the other monthly winners, will now go forward for potential selection as the overall Cork Person of the Year, which will be announced at an awards dinner in January 2027.
The organiser of the awards Manus O’Callaghan described Mr Condren as “a master of his craft”.
“He has an incredible gift for finding the extraordinary in the ordinary and the humanity in the headlines,” he said.
“His seven Photographer of the Year awards are a testament to his talent, and this Cork Person of the Month award is a testament to the pride his home county takes in his achievements.”
The judging panel hailed Mr Condren’s work as “iconic”, and said his ability to capture “human suffering and human joy elevate the work of this photographer beyond the immediate and the graphic.”
Award organisers also singled out his portfolio for covering a “vast emotional spectrum, from the intimate to the global”.
Specific works cited included a “striking” portrait of the actor Patrick Bergin in his Tipperary home, and a “poignant” image of Ibtisam, a Palestinian mother who was evacuated from Gaza to Dublin.
Patrick Bergin is working with Martin Scorsese on a new docuseries. Photo: Mark Condren
‘There’s no time, we will die’: Palestinian mother Ibtisam, whose husband and son are trapped in Gaza, has begged the government to save them. Photo: Mark Condren
President Catherine Connolly embraces her campaign manager Danny Callanan, after she was deemed elected before leaving the Galway West count centre. Photo: Mark Condren
“The raw emotion of political history” captured in his image of Catherine Connolly with her campaign manager Danny Callanan following Ms Connolly’s election as President last October was also praised.
After starting his career at local newspaper The Avondhu, Mr Condren moved on to The Corkman and the Sunday Tribune, before joining the Irish Independent and Sunday Independent.
He has published two photography books, The Guards and NYPD, featuring photographs of members of An Garda Síochána and the New York Police Department respectively.
“It’s been a long road, covering big stories to small stories, seeing people at their lowest, seeing people at their highest, but it’s been a good run,” Mr Condren said in a video shared on the Cork Person of the Year Awards YouTube channel.
He reflected on receiving his first camera from his mother and father on the morning of his confirmation.
“It was the most exciting thing ever, and everything snowballed after that.
“I can still remember that morning well, getting the film in, getting the camera wound up, and off I went, and I’ve never looked back.”