Beauty of Waterford coastline showcased in Love Your Coast Photography competition

A number of photographs taken along the Waterford coast were praised by the judges at this year's Love Your Coast competition.

One photograph taken in Ardmore took third place in the Underwater Category with another taken in Tramore shortlisted in the People and the Coast category of the competition which is run by An Taisce’s Clean Coasts programme.

With a prize fund of €5000, this year's competition attracted hundreds of amateur photographers from all around Ireland - each with their own unique way of capturing stunning photographs of Ireland’s beautiful coastline. 

William Murphy won the overall ‘Photographer of the Year’ title as well as 1st place in the ‘People and the Coast’ category in the Clean Coasts 2024 Love Your Coast photography competition with his photo ‘An Fear Marbh agus an Fear ag eitilt’, taken at Slea Head Drive, Dingle, County Kerry. 

Shazia Waheed’s photo 'Blenny Buddies' taken under the water at Ardmore, County Waterford came third in the Underwater category. The photograph captures a pair of blennies in a large rockpool in Ardmore.

“I have visited this particularly large rockpool in Ardmore for about a decade now, which a large group of about a dozen common blennies call home. This group began to recognise and trust me ever since I started feeding them some lunch scraps many years ago. They are also curious and inquisitive, which allowed me to capture their comical poses and interactions with each other up close in natural light on a sunny afternoon,” commented Shazia. 

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Stephen Higgins, made the shortlist in the People and the Coast Category for his photo entitled 'Cast It Into The Sunset' which was taken on Tramore Beach. The image showcases a lone fishermen at sunset. “I took this while on a Sunday stroll along Tramore beach. I ended up walking the three miles stretch of sand since it was a rare occasion we could see the sun in the sky. When I got nearer to the end of the beach, I noticed this lone fisherman so decided to capture him casting out his bait while the sun was setting behind the town of Tramore,” he said.  

In the 15 years since its inception, the Love Your Coast photography competition has been a celebration of the extraordinary beauty of Ireland’s coastline, that Clean Coasts’ volunteers work diligently to protect. 

Bronagh Moore, An Taisce’s Clean Coasts Programme Manager, stated: "The Love Your Coast photography competition is one of the highlights of An Taisce’s Clean Coasts calendar. It is a wonderful reminder of why the work we do with communities to help protect and care for Ireland’s waterways, coastline, seas, ocean and marine life, is so important. Seeing the beauty of our coastline captured in these photographs, you can’t help but feel inspired and driven to do everything you possibly can to protect and care for our marine environment."

Clean Coasts is sponsored by Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority and is supported by The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.