Love Your Coast photography competition winners announced
STUNNING IMAGES TO MAKE YOU LOVE YOUR COAST
Clean Coasts Announces Winners of Love Your Coast Photography Competition, Showcasing the Beauty of the Irish Coast
Clean Coasts proudly announced the winning photographers of the 14th edition of the Love Your Coast photography competition. With a prize fund of €6,000, the competition has attracted hundreds of photographers all around Ireland this year, receiving a record number of over 1,300 entries.
Stephen Dunbar, with his “Humpback Feeding”, captured in Broadhaven Bay, Co. Mayo won the “Photographer of the Year” title and 1st place in the Wildlife and the Coast category.
About the picture, Stephen said: “This image of a Humpback Whale was captured in Broadhaven Bay. I watched the whale feeding the day before from land. The next day, I was lucky enough to get out on a rib with Brendan and Marcus from IWDG. We first encountered two huge Basking Sharks when they came over to our boat. After that, we found the Humpback Whale feeding in the bay with a handful of Minke Whales and lots of common Dolphins. Many birds feed in the bay, including Kittiwakes, which are seen in the image, along with Puffins, Guillemots and Razorbills.”
Winners in other categories included:
Coastal Landscape: Peter Vandermeersch, Horizon, Bray, Co. Wicklow
Coastal Heritage: Karol Ryan, Sturgeon Moon, Ballycotton, Ballycotton, Co. Cork
People and the Coast: Megan Gayda, The Ocean Flare, Co. Clare
Underwater: Derek Bolton, Emerald Jewel, Sovereign Island, Co. Cork
Protectors of the Coast: Robert Ledwith, A Ray of Hope, Co. Clare
In 2023, Clean Coasts celebrated its 20th anniversary. Since 2003, Clean Coasts has been working with communities to help protect and care for Ireland’s waterways, coastline, seas, ocean and marine life. Since 2010, the Love Your Coast photography competition has been a celebration of all the beauty and uniqueness of the Irish coast, that Clean Coasts volunteers work to protect.
As part of its commitments under the EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive and OSPAR’s Marine Litter Action Plan, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is proud to support An Taisce’s ‘Clean Coasts Programme’, in its enthusiastic engagement with marine communities in relation to marine litter and in heightening public awareness and influencing positive behaviour among civil society.
Clean Coasts is also sponsored by Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority. The Green Coast Awards and associated Clean Coasts groups act as custodians for the beaches, seas, and marine life in Ireland, ensuring that they are managed appropriately and that they are litter and pollution free for our visitors to enjoy.
“Clean Coasts’ mission extends beyond a mere photography competition,” stated Sinead McCoy, Coastal Communities Manager. “Our coastal and marine environment form an integral part of Ireland’s identity. Through this competition, we invite the people in Ireland to appreciate, celebrate, and safeguard our coast, echoing the dedication of our over 2,000 volunteer groups working tirelessly to protect our marine environment.”
The Love Your Coast photography competition stands as a testament to Ireland’s coastal beauty and character, encapsulated through the lens of photographers who take part in the competition year after year. Clean Coasts wants to congratulate all the winning and shortlisted photographers and thank them for being part of this year’s celebrations.
Shortlisted and winning entries:
COASTAL LANDSCAPE
1st place – Peter Vandermeersch, Horizon, Bray, Co. Wicklow
2nd place – Piotr Machowczyk, Kilfarrasy Winter Session, Kilfarrasy, Co. Waterford
3rd place – Peter Bijsterveld, Oyster Beds in the Morning, Woodstown Beach, Co. Waterford
Adrian Hendroff Sea, Cliffs and Stars, Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare
Conor Corbett, Winter at Glassilaun Beach, Co.Galway, Glassilaun Beach, Co. Galway
Myles Lambert, What Once Was, Connemara, Co. Galway
Rob Plant, Waiting for the Tide River Scorid entering Fermoyle Strand, Castlegregory, Co. Kerry
Darragh Gorman, Electric Sea, Donegal Bay, Co. Donegal
Darragh Gorman, Northern Delight, Cliffoney Bay, Co. Sligo
Zhi Jun Jin, Bad Eddie, Bunbeg, Co. Donegal
COASTAL HERITAGE
1st place – Karol Ryan, Sturgeon Moon, Ballycotton, Ballycotton, Co. Cork
2nd place – Todor Tilev, Abandoned Ship, Hook Peninsula, Co. Wexford
3rd place – Piotr Machowczyk, Blackhead Lighthouse, Co. Clare, Black Head, The Burren, Co.Clare
Declan Roche, Sunset at Hook Lighthouse, Hook Lighthouse, Co. Wexford
Myles Lambert, One Golden Glance, Hook Head, Co. Wexford
Pawel Zygmunt, Liffey, Dublin
Tadhg O’Connell, Northern Gannets Gathering, Bull Rock, West Cork
Leszek Pawella, Skellig, Skellig Michael, Co. Kerry
Kathy Masterson, Bád Eddie Magheraclogher Beach, Gaoth Dobhair, Co. Donegal
Michelle Duffy, Doe Castle Views, Creeslough, Co. Donegal
PEOPLE AND THE COAST
1st place – Megan Gayda, The Ocean Flare, Co. Clare
2nd place – Kevin Doyle, Rescue 117, Tramore, Co. Waterford
3rd place – Ryan Murray, Cahersiveen in Seine Mood, Cahersiveen, Co. Kerry
Francisco Romo, Summer Swimmers, Vico Baths, Killiney, Co. Dublin
Des Byrne, Calvin Klein, Naylors Cove, Bray, Co. Wicklow
Todor Tilev, At the Cave at Boyeeghter Bay, Boyeeghter Bay, Co. Donegal
Christine Taylor, Flat Out, Laytown Beach, Co. Meath
Fran Cassidy, Achill Surfers, Keel Strand, Achill Island, Co. Mayo
Peter Vandermeersch, New Year in Ireland, Bray, Co. Wicklow
Terry Conroy, Marching to the Pipes, Dooagh, Achill, Co. Mayo
UNDERWATER
1st place – Derek Bolton, Emerald Jewel, Sovereign Island, Co. Cork
2nd place – Ryan Murray, Basking Shark Plankton Buffet, Ventry Bay, Co. Kerry
3rd place – Richard O’ Donnell, Sun Bathing Compass Jellyfish, The Birds, Valentia Island, Co. Kerry
Ivan Donoghue, Collision Avoidance, Saltee Islands, Co. Wexford
Maria McSweeney, Moon Jellyfish Bloom, Inis Mor, Co. Galway
Ivan Donoghue, Permission To Land, Hook Head, Co. Wexford
Shazia Waheed, Shore Clingfish, Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford
Maja Stankovski, My First Basking Shark, Skellig Michael, Co. Kerry
Mark Thomas, Plaice Face, Aughrus Bay, Claddaghduff, Co. Galway
Rory Maccanna, Common Blenny, Trá an Dóilín, Co. Galway
WILDLIFE AND THE COAST
1st place and Photographer of the Year- Stephen Dunbar, Humpback Feeding, Broadhaven Bay, Co. Mayo
2nd place – Karol Waszkiewicz, Godwit Digging Skills, Black Rock, Co. Kerry
3rd place – Donal Power, Storm Chaser, Outcrop off Greater Saltee Island, Co. Wexford
Christopher Howes, Time to Ourselves, Briedshead, Co. Wicklow
Pat Somers, Little Egret with Mullet, Ferrybank, Co. Wexford
Ailish Treviss, Sunbathing Babes, Seal Island, Glengarriff, Co. Cork
Declan Roche, Homeward Bound, Saltee Islands, Co. Wexford
Graham Murphy, Elegant and Beauty, Dingle, Co. Kerry
Caoimhe Tyndall, Ringed Plover, Bundoran, Co. Donegal
Liam Mc Laughlin, Cormorant in Full Mating Colours, Inch Island Wildlife Reserve, Co. Donegal
PROTECTORS OF THE COAST
1st place – Robert Ledwith, A Ray of Hope, Co. Clare
2nd place – Alan Davis, Loopers on a Log, Co. Wexford
3rd place – May Burns, The Beach Cleaners, Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo
Love Your Coast 2023 Judging Panel
Mark Carmondy has been interested in wildlife since he could crawl and started birdwatching with his uncle, Jim Wilson, when he was about 9 or 10 years old. He was interested in photography in a casual way as a kid in the 80s, but only took it up again with any intent in the mid-00s after he emigrated to Japan and digital was coming to the fore. He holds a degree and PhD in biochemistry. His day job is being a European Patent Attorney, but his dream job is just being immersed in our natural world and photographing it. Mark has published several books on the birdlife of Ireland, and work from time-to-time with Lindblad National Geographic on their expedition ships.
Tina Claffey is an award-winning Irish nature photographer and author of ‘Tapestry of Light-Ireland’s bogs & wetlands as never seen before’ released in October 2017, and ‘Portal-Otherworldly Wonders of Ireland’s Bogs, Wetlands and Eskers’ in 2022. Her observations and unique perspective through her macro lens of the flora and fauna of the raised bogs and wet woodlands of the Irish midlands are celebrated in her work. She has presented her work on many worldwide online platforms including the Wildlife Habitat Council Online Conference in the US and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) to promote the importance of the Irish bog wilderness.
Jim Coughlan is the Visual Media Manager for the Irish Examiner/The Echo. Having joined the Irish Examiner back in 2000, Mr. Coughlan took over as Picture Desk Editor in 2013 in a role that changed rapidly to incorporate sourcing, creating and managing graphics and video as well as pictures.
Sinead McCoy is Clean Coasts’ Coastal Communities Manager. Sinead joined the Environmental Education Unit in 2010, initial working with Green Schools team before moving to Clean Coasts in 2014 as Clean Coasts Officer. In 2016, Sinead became Coastal Communities Manager, responsible for Clean Coasts programme and additional projects. Sinead has been heavily involved in Love Your Coast Photography Competition since joining the Clean Coasts team and has huge passion for the key role Love Your Coast plays within the Clean Coasts programme
Conall O’Connor is an Assistant Principal in the Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage working in the area of Marine Environmental Policy. A keen amateur photographer himself, he has participated as a judge in the Love Your Coast competitions for many years which he describes one of the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of his work.
Jim Wilson is a wildlife writer, photographer, international wildlife tour leader and broadcaster. His wildlife photos have been featured in national and international publications, which include the best-selling The Birds of Ireland, A Field Guide (2013) and Ireland’s Garden Birds (2008). Jim also wrote the first field guide to the Whales and Dolphins of Ireland (IWDG 2006). He established the BirdWatch Ireland Garden Bird Survey in 1987, one of the longest running citizen projects in the country. For many years, Jim has been a regular contributor to The Mooney Goes Wild Show on RTE Radio 1 and has been a key figure in the production and presentation of the international live broadcast of the Mooney Goes Wild Dawn Chorus for over 20 years, based in Birdwatch Ireland Cuskinny Marsh Nature Reserve near his home town of Cobh in Cork Harbour.
Naoise Culhane is a commercial photographer based in Dublin, Ireland. With vast experience working in Press, Public Relations, Corporate and Commercial photography he has built a reputation for quality, style and delivery.He works closely with clients to deliver unique images for national and international campaigns and his work has been published across all mediums. Driven to creating lasting imagery he is always looking for something different to help his clients convey their message.
