- Clean Coasts’ Love Your Coast photography competition winners have been announced, showcasing all the beauty of the Irish coastal landscape, heritage, wildlife and more in 50 beautiful images.
Clean Coasts were thrilled to announce the winners of the 13th edition of their Love Your Coast photography competition during an in-person award ceremony in the Smock Alley Theatre, in Dublin on Thursday the 3rd of November.
After a two-year break, when the awards were held in a virtual ceremony, Clean Coasts and the photographers who were shortlisted, were happy to be back celebrating the beauty of the Irish coast in person.
For the past 13 years, the Love Your Coast photography competition has been inviting photographers to capture the uniqueness of our coastal landscape, heritage, wildlife, communities and more, and to submit their best shot across five categories – Coastal Heritage, Coastal Landscape, People & the Coast, Wildlife & the Coast and Creativity and the Coast – for a chance to win prizes from a €5,000 prize fund and plenty of exposure opportunities.
This year, they received over 1,100 entries and the 50 best images were shortlisted and displayed at our event at Smock Alley.
Darragh Gorman with his “Splash”, captured in Mullaghmore Co. Sligo has been awarded the title of Image of the Year.
John Bennett with “Ghost Ship Sunrise” taken in Ballycotton was shortlisted among the top ten images in the Coastal Landscape Category. He commented:
The curiosity surrounding the Ghost Ship MV Alta in Ballycotton Co. Cork coupled with a spell of nice weather in September were the motivators behind this shot. The outcome of the long-exposure creates a seascape that adds a further touch of mystery.
John Hall with “Pathway to the Light” taken in Monkstown, was shortlisted among the top ten in the Creativity and the Coast Category. This is what John said about his image:
I had previsualised this image a few months before I actually took it. I knew the composition I wanted, exposure time needed and that it would be a black and white image taken close to nightfall. Thankfully, everything came together on the day as planned.
Finally, Sarah Ryan with “Fishermen at Dusk” captured in Lough Mahon, Rochestown-Blackrock Greenway, was in the top ten in the Wildlife and Underwater Category and said:
I’ve spent many evenings over the past 3 years watching the herons fish along the water’s edge in Rochestown, Co.Cork. As the moon rose on a beautifully clear Spring evening in May, I sat and watched this pair work together along the shoreline as the pearlescent hue of dusk set in. The perfect calm of the water allowed their shadows to shine cinematically against the dreamy sky.
A list of all shortlisted images for each category can be found in the editor’s notes.
Working with communities on the ground, Clean Coasts’ mission is to help foster pride in our coastline, supporting Clean Coasts communities, groups, and volunteers to tackle issues affecting their local area. This competition provides an opportunity to view the coast and our waterways that the Clean Coasts programme works to protect from a completely different perspective and see the beauty captured therein.
Coastal Communities Manager Sinead McCoy said:
We were delighted to be able to celebrate in person again both the beauty of the Irish coast and the talent of the photographers who entered our competition, after a two-year break.
Over the last 13 years, the competition has been very successful and very well received. For Clean Coasts, this is more than just a photography competition: we are an island nation, and our coast and marine environment are incredibly important to us. Clean Coasts has over 1,800 volunteer groups who are doing amazing work when it comes to managing and protecting our marine environment, so these photographs are a way for everybody to appreciate and celebrate our coast and be inspired to get involved too.
Love Your Coast 2022 shortlist and winners
Overall winner: Darragh Gorman, Splash, Mullaghmore Co. Sligo
Coastal Landscape Top 10
| NAME | TITLE OF IMAGE | LOCATION |
| Darragh Gorman – 1st place | Splash | Mullaghmore Co. Sligo |
| Kevin Foley – 2nd place | Croaghaun Sea Cliffs | Croaghaun sea cliffs, Achill Island, Co. Mayo |
| Pawel Zygmunt – 3rd place | Sea Path | High Rock, Portmarnock, Co. Dublin |
| Kevin Grace | Dunmore Head, Dingle, Kerry | Dunmore Head, Dingle, Co. Kerry |
| Piotr Machowczyk | Hags Head, Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare | Hags Head, Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare |
| Myles Lambert | Days End | Lough Ahalia, Screebe, Connemara, Co. Galway |
| Samantha O’Connor | Sunset at Fanad Lighthouse, Co. Donegal | Fanad Penisula, Fanad, Co. Donegal |
| Conor O’Brien | Three Wise Sheep | Dunmore Head, Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry |
| Conor O’Brien | Mostly Blue | Bull Wall, Clontarf, Co. Dublin |
| John Bennett | Ghost Ship Sunrise | Ballycotton, Co. Cork |
Coastal Heritage Top 10
| NAME | TITLE OF IMAGE | LOCATION |
| Brian Campbell – 1st place | In the Shadow of a Giant! | Classiebawn Castle, Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo |
| Brian Wilson – 2nd place | Weathering the Storm | Broadhaven Lighthouse, Ballyglass, Co. Mayo |
| Piotr Machowczyk – 3rd place | Doonagore Castle in Doolin | Doonagore Castle, Doolin, Co. Clare |
| Philip Reilly | Wicklow Head Lighthouse at Sunrise | Wicklow Head Lighthouse, Dunbur Head, Co. Wicklow |
| Helen Black | Summer Evening Activity | Coliemore Harbour, Co. Dublin |
| Dave Stanley | Laytown Viaduct | Laytown Beach, Laytown, Co. Meath |
| Stephen Higgins | Hook Lighthouse Braving Storm Eunice | Dunmore East, Co. Waterford |
| Kevin Doyle | The Metal Man | Tramore, Co. Waterford |
| Sean O Riordan | The Skelligs | St Finians Bay, Co. Kerry |
| Dezso Toth | The Way to a New Day | Balbriggan Beach, Fingal Coastal Way, Co. Dublin |
People and the Coast Top 10
| NAME | TITLE OF IMAGE | LOCATION |
| Gary McCall – 1st place | Conor Maguire Surfs the Largest Wave Ever Ridden in Ireland | Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo |
Todor Tilev – 2nd place | Sunset at Inch Beach | Inch Beach, Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry |
Terry Conroy – 3rd place | Achill Man | Purteen Harbour, Keel, Achill, Co. Mayo |
Dave Stanley | Paradise Beach | Laytown Beach, Laytown, Co. Meath |
Joe Silke | Stormy Wave Rider | Fanore Beach, Fanore Co. Clare |
Gerard Lynch | Lonesome Boatman | Foileye, Kells, Co. Kerry |
Tim Beck | Nice Day for a Dip | Doolin, Co. Clare |
Zlatina Angelova | Walk in the Fog One | Bull Island, Dollymount Strand, Co. Dublin |
Stephen Higgins | Sunset Surfer | Copper Coast, Co. Waterford |
| Aoife Hester | Bray Air Show Crowds 2022 | Bray, Co. Wicklow |
Creativity and the Coast Top 10
| NAME | TITLE OF IMAGE | LOCATION |
| Adrian Hendroff – 1st place | Labyrinth | Dunmore Head, Co. Kerry |
Kevin Doyle – 2nd place | The Guillamene | Tramore, Co. Waterford |
Darragh Gorman – 3rd place | Sun Surfer | Bundoran Co. Donegal |
Vyvyon Styles | Reflections | Howth Harbour, Co. Dublin |
Mick Bohan | Raindrop | Whitestrand, Killadoon, Co. Mayo |
John Hall | Pathway To the Light | Monkstown, Co. Cork |
Patrick Jackson | Oscar and the Cloak of Howth | Howth, Co. Dublin |
| Todor Tilev | The Storm | Clogher Beach, Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry |
Pakie O Donoghue | Beach Walker | Inch Beach, Dingle, Co. Kerry |
| Gary McCall | Peaty River Meets the Atlantic | Dunfanaghy Co. Donegal |
Wildlife and UnderwaterTop 10
| NAME | TITLE OF IMAGE | LOCATION |
| Aoife Hester 1st place | Compass Jelly | Sandycove, Co. Dublin |
Christopher Howes 2nd place | Seals Have Fun Too | Brides Head, Wicklow Town, Co. Wicklow |
Declan Roche 3rd place | Hare at Curracloe Beach, Co. Wexford | Curracloe Beach, Co. Wexford |
John Collins | Basking Sharks | 2 Miles off Georges Head, Kilkee, Co. Clare |
Clodagh Blake | Bringing Home the Dinner | Saltee Islands, Co. Wexford |
Sarah Ryan | Fishermen at Dusk | Lough Mahon, Rochestown-Blackrock Greenway, Co. Cork |
Maja Stankovski | Curious Blenny | Little Skellig, Co. Kerry |
Karol Waszkiewicz | Brent Geese Flying over Stormy Tralee Bay | Fenit, Fenit beach, Co. Kerry |
Pat Somers | Male Leafcutter Bee | Raven Forest, Curracloe, Co. Wexford |
| Ivan Donoghue | Underwater Birds | Saltee Islands, Co. Wexford |
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WEBSITE: https://cleancoasts.org/our-initiatives/love-your-coast/
About Clean Coasts:
Clean Coasts is a charity programme, run through the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce, which engages communities in the protection of Ireland’s beaches, seas and marine life. Clean Coasts works with communities to help protect and care for Ireland’s waterways, coastline, seas, ocean and marine life. Clean Coasts thrives to create tangible and immediate improvements to Ireland’s coastal environment, involving thousands of volunteers removing large quantities of marine litter from our coastline each year.
Clean Coasts has grown over the years and now includes two main national clean-up drives. Other initiatives include the Green Coast Award, the Love Your Coast Photography competition, the Clean Coasts Roadshows for coastal communities and the Ocean Hero Awards. All these initiatives are aimed at celebrating the beauty of our coast and the efforts of our volunteers across all of Ireland.
Currently, there are over 1,800 registered Clean Coasts volunteering groups and 37,000 volunteers. There are a variety of group types such as community groups, residents’ associations, tidy towns groups, sports clubs, schools, businesses, universities etc. Clean Coasts organises hundreds of beach clean-ups annually mobilising thousands of volunteers, removing considerable quantities of marine litter from Ireland’s beaches and waterways. Our volunteering has expanded to also include Corporate Volunteering.
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