As 2023 comes to a close, we look back on a turbulent 12 months through the best of photojournalism.
That year saw a resurgence of violent conflict between Israel and Gaza, while Russia’s war in Ukraine continued unabated. Closer to home, the horrific stabbing in Dublin and the ensuing riots shocked the nation and made headlines around the world.
Here are the photos that defined this year:
January
The body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is kept in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
The slopes of the Lohrmoos ski resort in Schladming, Austria. Alpine ski resorts faced an unseasonably warm January that brought record temperatures to many parts of Europe.Photo: Daniel Kopacz/Getty Images
Protest against overcrowding at Letterkenny University Hospital. Demonstrations were held nationwide on January 21 over the crisis of hospital overcrowding. Photo: Joe Borland/NW Newspix
Teacher Enoch Burke was photographed outside Wilson Hospital School in County Westmeath on January 25, the week after he was formally sacked from the school.Photo: PA Images
February
A man sleeps on a sofa near a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck near Gaziantep, causing widespread damage in southern Turkey and northern Syria.Photo: Burak Kara/Getty Images
A vigil is being held in Omagh, Co. Tyrone, following the attempted murder of an off-duty police officer. DCI John Caldwell was coaching a local children’s soccer team when he was shot at close range by two men.Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
British Chancellor Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shook hands after securing a landmark agreement to regulate trade in Northern Ireland. “We believe the Windsor Framework marks a turning point,” Mr Sunak said.Photo: Dan Kitwood/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Graffiti on the standing stone of Lia Fail, also known as the Stone of Destiny, on the Hill of Tara near Scryne, Co. Meath.Photo: Niall Carson/PA Images
march
Laila Temori, 47, is searching for the bodies of her relatives at a shipwreck along the coast of Calabria, Italy. She lost her brother’s entire family, including three children. Ninety-four migrants were killed while trying to cross the sea from Turkey, and 80 others were rescued.Photo: Alessio Mamo/Getty Images
Dominic Manta, 3, from Clondalkin, pulls a sled in the mountains of Dublin after heavy snowfall. Photo: P.A.
St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin.Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
Former US President Donald Trump leaves the speech at his first rally since announcing his 2024 presidential campaign in Waco, Texas.Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
April
Gerald ‘The Monk’ Hutch leaves the Special Criminal Court after being found not guilty of the murder of David Byrne.Photo: Collins
Dissident republicans in the Creggan area of Derry city during the annual parade commemorating the 1916 Easter Rising.Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
US President Joe Biden addressed a crowd of thousands in Ballina, Co. Mayo, in the final event of a four-day visit to the island of Ireland.Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, former US President Bill Clinton, Rachel Eastwood (Colum’s wife) and Governor Terence McAuliffe drink Guinness in Derry. Clinton spoke at a memorial service for John Hume and David Trimble, the main architects of the Good Friday Agreement. Photo: P.A.
May
Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla head to Buckingham Palace after their coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London.Photo: Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images
Wild Youth singer Conor O’Donohoe performs at the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, England. Athletes from Ireland were not able to advance to the final.Photo: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images
Sinn Féin Vice-President Michelle O’Neill celebrates with candidates and party officials during the counting of votes in the Northern Ireland parliamentary election in Magherafelt, County Derry.Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
June
Beachgoers enjoy sunny skies at Helen’s Bay, County Down during the warm early June months. Photo: P.A.
A smoky haze from Canadian wildfires turns New York City’s skyline orange. In June, New York topped the list of the world’s most polluted major cities.Photo: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
Staff protests outside RTÉ’s headquarters in Dublin following controversy over secret payments to highly paid presenter Ryan Tubridy. Photo: P.A.
Tánaiste Michael Martin looks on as protesters disrupt the opening session of the Forum on International Security and Defense Policy in Cork.Photo: Brian Lawless/Pennsylvania
July
Bouquets of flowers were laid outside St Michael’s College in Dublin following the deaths of two graduates. Andrew O’Donnell and Max Wall, both 18, died while on holiday on the Greek island of Ios.Photo: Conor O Melane/Collins
Broadcaster Ryan Tubridy (right) and his deputy Noel Kelly outside Leinster House after giving evidence to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee on the RTÉ payment dispute.Photo: Colin Keegan/Collins
Orange men marching in Belfast on July 12th.Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
Leo Varadkar sits across from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a meeting in Kiev, Ukraine.Photo: Clodagh Kilcoyne/AFP via Getty Images
August
People place flowers and offerings at the hearse at the funeral of Sinead O’Connor from Bray, Co. Wicklow.Photo: Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images
At a Bank of Ireland branch in Finglas, Dublin, customers were able to withdraw up to €1,000 even if their account was empty after a glitch. This resulted in huge lines at ATMs across the country and made headlines around the world as some customers tried to take advantage of the error. Photo: P.A.
A boat carrying about 50 migrants sailing through the English Channel entered British territorial waters. More than 100,000 migrants have crossed from France in small boats since Britain began keeping official records of arrivals in 2018. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
September
A woman sits in the rubble of a village almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in Douzerou, Morocco. A massive earthquake beneath villages in the High Atlas Mountains killed around 3,000 people.Photo: Karl Cote/Getty Images
Angry protests took place outside Leinster House on the first day of Dail’s new term against a range of issues including immigration, the Covid-19 vaccine, transgender rights, sex education in schools and the hate speech bill. . Photo: P.A.
Waves at high tide in Tramore, Co. Waterford, during Storm Agnes. Photo: P.A.
A sycamore gap tree on Hadrian’s Wall lies on the ground after being cut down in an “act of vandalism”. The tree is one of the most photographed trees in Britain and was even featured in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.Photo: Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images
October
Israeli security forces are searching the venue for the Supernova music festival, where hundreds of people were killed and dozens taken hostage by Hamas. On October 7, Palestinian armed groups launched a surprise attack on Israel from Gaza by land, sea, and air, killing more than 1,300 people and injuring approximately 2,800 others.Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images
Israeli troops fire into Gaza. After the Hamas attack, Israel blockaded Gaza and launched deadly airstrikes against the Palestinian territory.Photo: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar surveys damage to local businesses on Main Street in Middleton, Co. Cork, after Storm Babette, the second storm of the season, hits. Photo: PA
A woman cradles her 8-month-old son Mohammad Bilal Abu Salah as residents collect the bodies of Palestinians killed in a reported Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip.Photo: Ahmad Hasabalah/Getty Images
Maggie’s Bar in Newry, Colo., is flooded ahead of Storm Ciaran. Photo: P.A.
November
Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald after speaking at the party’s Ard Festival in Athlone, Co. Westmeath.Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
Ashling Murphy’s mother and sister, Kathleen and Amy, outside the Central Criminal Court after Joseph Puska was found guilty of murdering a schoolteacher.Photo: Collins
A Garda vehicle bursts into flames during riots in Dublin city centre.Photo: Colin Keegan/Collins
Deliveroo driver Caio Benicio was among a group of people who thwarted a knife attack outside a school in Parnell Square, Dublin. Five people, including three children, were injured in the incident.Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
People walk past a destroyed Luas tram in O’Connell Street, Dublin, the morning after the riots.Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
December
Funeral procession for Pogues singer Shane McGowan in Dublin.Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
People riding horses on Donabate Beach, County Dublin. Photo: P.A.
DUP leader Geoffrey Donaldson leaves Hillsborough Castle after talks with other northern parties. The DUP has been protesting post-Brexit trade rules and boycotting Stormont’s power-sharing government from 2022.Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
People take part in the winter solstice sunrise ceremony in Newgrange, Co. Meath.Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images