I, Daniel Blake directed by Ken Loach, has scooped the top prize, the Palme d’Or, at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Loach has described the film as 'a message of hope.'

The 79-year old British director, who is one of the most celebrated auteurs in recent film history, won the Palme d'Or a decade ago, with the powerful and widely-acclaimed Irish film, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, starring Cillian Murphy. Loach's latest film aims to expose the cruelty of the British welfare system. "We must give a message of hope,” he said as he accepted the prize.”We must say: another world is possible."

An astonishingly powerful and moving film, I, Daniel Blake tells the story of 59-year old Newcastle carpenter, Daniel Blake (Dave Johns), who is recovering from a heart attack. His doctor has told him not to work, and recommended sick leave – but, in a scenario that is all too familiar in a post-Thatcherite world, the carpenter is forced to look for work or be deprived of financial assistance from the State.

During a visit to the job centre, Blake meets Rachel, played by Hayley Squires, a single mother with two children. In order to avoid living in a hostel, Rachel has had to accept accommodation all of 280 miles from her home town. Their lives inter-twine, giving the film its powerful dramatic narrative.

Recent winners of the Palme d'Or include Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013), Winter Sleep (2014) and Dheepan (2015).

One of the most prestigious awards in film, the annual accolade is awarded by a jury comprised largely of film-makers and actors. In its inaugural year, 1955, the Palme d'Or was awarded to Delbert Mann for his film, Marty.

Sadly, there were no Irish victors in Cannes this year. Among the winners announced this evening, across various categories, were:

• Best Short Film: Timecode;
• Caméra d’Or (Best First Feature) - Divines (director, Houda Benyamina);
• Honorary Palme d’Or - Jean-Pierre Léaud;
• Best actor - Shahab Hosseini, The Salesman;
• Best Actress - Jaclyn Jose, Ma Rosa;
• Jury Prize - Andrea Arnold, American Honey;
• Best Screenplay- Asghar Fahardi, The Salesman;
• Best Director - Graduation (Cristian Mungui) and Personal Shopper (Olivier Assayes);
• Grand Prix - Xavier Dolan, It’s Only the End of the World.

There have been numerous notable winners of the Palme d'Or over the years, many of which went on to be regarded among the greatest films of all time, including the Federico Fellini-directed La Dolce Vita (1960); Luchino Visconti's The Leopard (1963); and Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which starred Catherine Deneuve, in 1964 – and which retains a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up won the award in 1967; Robert Altman’s Mash scooped the prize in 1970; and Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation took the top slot in 1974. Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, starring Robert de Niro in his defining role as Travis Bickle, claimed glory in 1976. Apocalypse Now, also directed by Francis Ford Coppola shared the Palme d'Or in 1979, with Werner Hertzog’s legendary adaptation of Gunter Grass' The Tin Drum; meanwhile the Bob Fosse-directed All That Jazz took the honours in 1980, alongside Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s brilliant Kagemusha.

The Wim Wenders-directed Paris Texas – with an amazing soundtrack by Ry Cooder – claimed the Palme d'Or in 1984; Seven Soderbergh led the way in 1989 with Sex, Lies, Videotape; The Coen Brothers snaffled the honours in 1991 with Barton Fink; and in 1993, New Zealand director Jane Campion – the only female director to date to have won the Palme d’Or – shared the prize for her movie The Piano, with the brilliant Farewell My Concubine, by Chen Kaige.

Quentin Tarantino was accorded the ultimate Cannes accolade for his second major feature Pulp Fiction in 1994; Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's A Taste of Cherry jointly claimed the prize with The Eel by Shohei Imamura in 1997; in 2000, it was the turn of Lars von Trier for Dancer in the Dark, which starred the iconic Icelandic star Bjork; and Gus van Zant's Elephant triumphed in 2003.

All good company, as they say. But only Francis Ford Coppola had previously won the Palme d’Or twice. That puts Ken Loach’s achievement in perspective. That he is among the great modern European directors has been confirmed unequivocally. Long live Ken Loach!