Environment

Wildlife, lighthouses and boats: The winning images in this year’s Love Your Coast photography competition

More than 1,300 submissions were received by Clean Coast with Stephen Dunbar taking home Photographer of the Year award

Stephen Dunbar came first in the Wildlife and the Coast category and took the overall prize for Photographer of the Year with 'Humpback Feeding', captured in Broadhaven Bay, Co Mayo.

Glen Murphy's face
Glen Murphy
Fri Nov 3 2023 - 18:31

The winners for the 14th Love Your Coast photography competition were announced on Friday evening.

The competition received a record number of entries with more than 1,300 submissions, all vying for a share of the €6,000 prize fund.

Stephen Dunbar won two big awards, taking home the overall Photographer of the Year prize as well as coming first in the Wildlife and the Coast category for his photo, Humpback Feeding.

“This image of a humpback whale was captured in Broadhaven Bay,” Mr Dunbar said.

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“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.”

Other categories included Coastal Landscape, Coastal Heritage, People and the Coast, Underwater and Protectors of the Coast, entries for all which can be found below.

The judging panel for the competition was made up by Mark Carmondy, a lifelong nature enthusiast with a PhD in biochemistry, award-winning nature photographer and author Tine Claffey, visual media manager for the Irish Examiner/The Echo Jim Coughlan, Clean Coasts’ coastal communities manager Sinead McCoy, assistant principal in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Conall O’Connor, wildlife writer, photographer and broadcaster Jim Wilson and commercial photographer Naoise Culhane.

To find out more about the competition and its organisers, Clean Coast, visit cleancoasts.org.

Coastal Heritage Category 1st Place Karol Ryan - Sturgeon Moon, Ballycotton - Ballycotton, Co. Cork Karol Ryan stated of this winning image, “I had been to this location the previous month to try and capture this image but the weather didn't work in my favour, but the next month on 11th August the conditions were perfect & I managed to get the shot I was after.”

Karol Ryan came first in the Coastal Heritage category with her image ‘Sturgeon Moon, Ballycotton’, taken in Ballycotton, Co Cork

Underwater category

Derek Bolton came first in the underwater category with ‘Emerald Jewel’, taken in Sovereign Island in Co Cork.

Underwater category

Ryan Murray came second in the underwater category with the image, ‘Basking Shark Plankton Buffer’, taken at Ventry Bay in Co Kerry.

Underwater category

Richard O’ Donnell came third in the underwater category with ‘Sun Bathing Compass Jelly Fish’, taken at The Birds in Valentia Island, Co Kerry.

Underwater category

Maria McSweeney was shortlisted in the underwater category with ‘Moon Jellyfish Bloom’, taken at Seals House Dive Site in Inis Mór, Co Galway.

Coastal Heritage Category

Todor Tilev came second in the Coastal Heritage category with ‘Abandoned Ship’, taken at Hook Peninsula, Co Wexford.

Coastal Heritage Category

Tadhg O'Connel's image, 'Northern Gannets Gathering' was taken at Bull Rock, west Co Cork and was entered in the Coastal Heritage category.

Coastal Heritage Category

Piotr Machowczyk took third place in the Coastal Heritage category with 'Blackhead Lighthouse, Co Clare', taken at Black Head in The Burren

Coastal Heritage Category

Kathy Masterson was shortlisted in the Coastal Heritage category with image, Bád Eddie, taken at Magheraclogher beach, Gaoth Dobhair, Co Donegal.

Graham Murphy's entry into the Wildlife and the Coast Category, 'Elegant and Beauty', taken in Dingle, Co Kerry.

Donal Power came in third in the Wildlife and the Coast category with 'Storm Chaser', taken from the outcrop off Greater Saltee Island, Co Wexford.

Karol Waszkiewicz took second place in the Wildlife and the Coast category for 'Godwit Digging Skills', taken in Blackrock, Co Kerry.

Caoimhe Tyndall was shortlisted in the Wildlife and the Coast category with ‘Ringed Plover’, taken in Bundoran, Co Donegal.

Declan Roche was shortlisted in the Wildlife and the Coast category for his image 'Homeward Bound', taken on the Saltee Islands in Co Wexford.

Des Byrne was shortlisted in the People and the Coast category with ‘Calvin Klein’, taken at Naylor’s Cove in Bray, Co Wicklow.

Kevin Doyle came second in the People and the Coast category with the image, ‘Rescue 117’.

Terry Conroy was shortlisted in the People and the Coast category with ‘Marching to the Pipes’, taken in Dooagh in Achill Island, Co Mayo.

Ryan Murray came third in the ‘People and the Coast’ category with ‘Cahersiveen in Seine Mood’, taken in Cahersiveen, Co Kerry.

Todor Tilev was shortlisted in the People and the Coast category with ‘At the Cave at Boyeeghter Bay’, taken in Boyeeghter Bay, Co Donegal.

Francisco Romo was shortlisted in the People and the Coast category with ‘Summer Swimmers’, taken at the Vico Baths in Killiney, Co Dublin.

Megan Gayda took first place with 'The Ocean Flare', taken in Co Clare, in the People and the Coast category.