Photo of Humpback at Donegal Bay ‘a deserving and unanimous winner’

An image of a Humpback Whale captured in Donegal Bay has scooped the top prize in a national competition.

The photo captured by Mark O’Connor from Cliffoney, County Sligo, was awarded the top spot in the ‘My Favourite Waterbody’ competition. Mark will now receive a €550 voucher for Sheen Falls Lodge in County Kerry along with a framed print of his winning photo.

The runner-up awards were Kevin Jones, with his photo of Lough Neagh in County Derry, Andrew Keane, with his photo of the River Nore in Inistioge, County Kilkenny and William Murphy, with his photo of the Beeves Rock lighthouse in the Shannon Estuary.

On Mark’s photo of Donegal Bay, the judges remarked: “This image does what the best nature photography achieves: it makes you catch your breath and recalibrate your sense of place. A humpback whale breaks the surface of Donegal Bay at dusk, seabirds wheeling overhead all the while, the sky is a wash of rose and amber - the water calm enough to hold the light - and the bay's lighthouse stands as a quiet sentinel on the headland behind.

“What elevates this beyond spectacle is its layering - the whale, the birds, the lighthouse, the mountain, the sky - a reminder that we are not observers of nature but an intrinsic part of it. This is what healthy water looks like: teeming, luminous, generous, abundant, alive. A deserving and unanimous winner.”

The national competition was run as part of the River Basin Management Service’s (formerly Local Authority Waters Programme) World Water Day celebrations.

From the 630 photographs submitted to the competition, an internal panel of staff from the River Basin Management Service selected a shortlist. The shortlisted entries were then judged by broadcaster and journalist Ella McSweeney, who was joined on the judging panel by Aisling O'Connor, a sixth-year student from County Limerick and an Irish Schools Sustainability Network Ambassador.

“This year's competition produced such an impressive and beautiful body of work showing just how lived-in and loved our rivers, streams, lakes and estuaries are around Ireland,” judges Ella and Aisling said. “The standard was high throughout, from technical confidence - balancing light, water and structure - to the more intimate images that found beauty in stillness, detail and serenity. What unites them is a strong sense of relationship rather than mere observation.

“Competitions like this build a constituency of care. When people spend time looking closely at a river, lake or estuary in order to capture it in a photograph, they become more attuned to its health, its changes, and what is at risk. It's hard to love a place you've seen and not want to protect it, and if this competition nudges us to take a closer interest in our waterways, then it has done something valuable.”

Anthony Coleman, Director of Services at the River Basin Management Service, said: “We are delighted to announce the winners of the ‘My Favourite Waterbody’ photo competition, which was launched in March as part of our World Water Day celebrations. We would like to thank all of the participants in the competition and congratulate our overall winner and three runners-up.

“The winning photographs captured not only the scenic splendour of Ireland’s waters but also the deep personal connections people have with these special places, highlighting the sense of tranquillity, enjoyment and wellbeing they provide and reminding us of the importance of protecting these environments for future generations.”

Winning and shortlisted photos will be featured in the River Basin Management Service 2027 calendar and winners will receive a calendar later in the year in addition to their framed photographs.