Clean Coasts 2020: Celebrating the winners of this year’s Love Your Coast photography competition

The Love Your Coast competition has been an integral part of the Clean Coasts programme for numerous years, as seen last year when we celebrated our 10th anniversary of the competition and showcased photos submitted over the past decade. Being Ireland’s foremost community-based coastal programme, Clean Coasts counts on the work of over 1200 volunteer groups nationwide, engaging 24,000 volunteers to help protect our coastline, waterways, seas, ocean, and marine life.

This year even with the country in lockdown and facing challenging circumstances our fabulous volunteers and groups have been eager to engage with us and support the fight against marine pollution. Working with our incredible volunteers on the ground, Clean Coasts mission is to foster pride in our coastline and waterways and the Love Your Coast competition is an opportunity to see this reflected in the entries.

Last night, Clean Coasts’ Love Your Coast Photography awards were held virtually, where the winning photographers for the Love Your Coasts Photography competition were announced. The competition had a prize fund of €5,000 for the amateur photographers competing in four categories: Coastal Heritage, Coastal Landscape, People & the Coast and Wildlife & the Coast.
Ireland has some of the most spectacular and diverse coastline in the world. For the past 11 years, the ‘Love Your Coast’ competition has been about capturing the essence of the Irish coastline, its beauty, and its diverse character.

This year, Clean Coasts received over 1,000 entries and the 40 best shots were shortlisted for an online gallery. The winning images showcased the stunning coastlines of Mayo, Wexford, Donegal, Galway and Sligo. Ivan Donoghue with his two winning images, Jellyfish & Diver and Diver in Cave was the overall winner for 2020 Love Your Coast photography competition.

Sinead McCoy, Clean Coasts Manager said: “The Clean Coasts programme are incredibly proud that our Love Your Coast photography competition, capturing the most incredible images that celebrate all aspects of Irelands stunning coastline that we are working to protect. The shortlisted images, and those selected throughout the past 11 years of this competition, illustrating the vast character of our coastline from Fanad in Donegal to the Skelligs in Kerry, from whales to surfers and from families enjoying a day out at the beach to dramatic seascapes, these photographs truly captured the essence of the Irish Coastline.’

Clean Coasts would like to wish a huge congratulations to Ivan Donoghue and the rest of the prize winners and thank all the entrants for submitting their photographs.
A gallery of the winning photographs can be found on www.cleancoasts.org

WINNERS 2020
Overall winner:
Ivan Donoghue, Jellyfish and Diver, Aran Island, Co Galway

Coastal Heritage
1.Dara Vaughan, Blue hour at Dunguaire Castle, Kinvara, Co. Galway
2.Andrew Watchorn, The Fish Shop, Coal Harbour, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
3. Marie Hayes, The Mighty Hook, Ballymun, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford
Coastal Landscape
1. Mick Hunt, Sea Cave at Downpatrick Head, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo
2. David Valentine,Clearing Mist, North looking from Cahore, Ballygarret, Co. Wexford
3. Pawel Zygmunt, Incoming Rain, Glencolumbkille, Co. Donegal
People and the Coast
1. Garr Cleary, Low Tide, Malahide, Co. Dublin
2. Gary McCall, Enda Curran Surfing, Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo
3. Ivan Donaghue, Diver in Cave, Taken in the caves off Hook Head, Co. Wexford
Wildlife and the Coast
1. Ivan Donoghue, Jellyfish and Diver, Aran Island, Co Galway
2. Nigel Motyer, Territorial Seals, Dalkey Island, Co. Dublin
3. Sean O’Callaghan, Limp Leviathan, Mace Head Co. Galway

The Judging Panel:
• Karen Staunton: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
• Jim Wilson: Wildlife Writer, International Wildlife Tour Guide and Broadcaster
• Ken O’Sullivan: Natural History Filmmaker, Author and Ocean Conservationist
• Eoin McDonnell: Project Officer, Failte Ireland
• Naoise Culhane: Press and Commercial Photographer
• Aine Purcell-Milton: Coastal Programmes Officer, Environmental Education Unit, An Taisce
• Sinead McCoy: Coastal Communities Manager, Environmental Education Unit, An Taisce