Wexford coasts wildlife showcased in the 2025 'Love Your Coast' competition

This past Friday, July 18th, An Taisce’s Clean Coasts proudly announced the winning photographers of the 2025 Love Your Coast photography competition. Running for its 16th year, the award ceremony held in EPIC, Dublin, showcased the Irish Coast in all its wonder, celebrating the immense beauty and heritage of the coast and waterways that Clean Coasts’ volunteers work tirelessly to protect.

Photographer of the year: This year, Dublin photographer Maria Quigley’s photograph, "Embrace the Water", was named the overall winner of the Clean Coasts 2025 Love Your Coast photography competition. With her photo also taking first place in the new ‘Connecting with the Coast’ category. The photo dreamily illustrates the subject Bobby, in the golden soft morning light during his daily swim. Maria explained the process of capturing her photo “I took this photo on January 9th 2025, when the sea was 7°C and ice covered the slipway. Bobby, swims daily in the morning time all year-round, usually at Coliemore Harbour, his favourite spot. He says that missing a swim ruins his day. I was lucky to take the photo as the sun was rising at that time.” Wexford finalists: Four photographs in total taken in county Wexford secured places as finalists in 2025, shining a spotlight on the diverse wildlife and beauty of the model county’s coast. Richard Boyle's image "Ripples" displays the stunning colours and textures of ripples across the rocks at Seafield Bay Beach in Wexford, securing a finalist spot in the 'Coastal Landscape' category. "Shag" by Stephen Dunbar, a finalist in the ‘Wildlife and the Coast’ category captures a dark and fascinating portrait of the coastal bird on the Saltee Islands off the Wexford Coast. Also taken on the Saltee Islands and securing a finalist spot int the ‘Wildlife and the Coast’ category, Des Glynn's "Rock Pipit" was captured as the small bird catches insects amongst the fauna. A finalist in the 'Underwater' category, "Tompot Blenny" was captured by Ivan Donoghue at Hook Head. First place winners in all five categories are as follows: Coastal Landscape: Seán Bruen with “Balbriggan Lighthouse Blowing a Gale”, taken at Lambeecher, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin Connecting with the Coast: Maria Quigley’s photo “Embrace the Water” taken in Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, Co. Dublin Wildlife and the Coast: Tom Ormond’s photo entitled “Humpback Whale”, taken at Donegal Bay Co. Donegal. Underwater: Mark O'Leary’s photo “The Giants” captured at Loop Head Co. Clare Source to Sea: Helen Black with “Let there be Light”, taken at Glendasan, Co.Wicklow This year over 560 photographers entered a total of 1,178 photos for a placement in the top three in one of five categories and their share of the €5,000 prize fund and for a shot at the coveted title of Photographer of the Year. The five distinct categories this year focused on showcasing the interconnectedness of Ireland’s waterways and how people, place and nature all connect with our vital blue spaces, be it by the beach, lake, or river. Two new categories were introduced this year to highlight this theme of Connection; Connecting with the Coast, and Source to Sea, alongside firm competition favourites of Coastal Landscape, Wildlife and The Coast, and Underwater. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has been proud to support the “Love Your Coast” Awards for many years.  Love Your Coast provides a powerful forum for Ireland’s most creative photographers to showcase our spectacular and beautiful coast and seas. The visual legacy that has been built up over the years will provide a powerful record for the future. Support for this inspiring programme is transferring to the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment who welcome and look forward to ongoing engagement with An Taisce  in the coming years. Clean Coasts is also sponsored by Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority. Initiatives from associated Clean Coasts groups and the Green Coast Awards act as custodians for Ireland's beaches, seas, and marine life. These initiatives ensure that our beautiful coastline and beaches are maintained and managed appropriately for visitors and local communities to continue to responsibly enjoy. An Taisce’s Clean Coasts Programme Manager, Bronagh Moore said "The Love Your Coast photography competition, has once again received outstanding submissions which is a testament to the hugely talented photographers we have in Ireland and how they can so creatively capture the stunning beauty of our coastline and waterways. We introduced two new categories this year to highlight our unique connection to the water and its journey from source to shore, and it proved to be hugely popular. You can see from the beauty of the photographs, why our community groups are so motivated and work tirelessly to care for and protect our coastline, marine life and waterways.” The Love Your Coast photography competition aims to promote connection to Ireland’s coastal beauty and character, as captured through the lens of talented photographers who take part in the competition year after year. An Taisce, Clean Coasts and our competition supporters wish to congratulate all the winning and shortlisted photographers and thank them for being part of this year’s competition. Winners: Finalists shortlist and winning photo details by category: Coastal Landscape 1. 1st Place: Seán Bruen “Balbriggan Lighthouse Blowing a Gale”, taken at Lambeecher, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin 2. 2nd Place: Kevin Grace, “Dun Laoghaire Pier Sunrise”, taken at Dun Laoghaire Pier, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin 3. 3rd Place: Brendan Alexander, “Milky Way over the Murder Hole”, taken at Murder Hole Beach, Downing, Co. Donegal Finalists: 4. Richard Boyle, “Ripples”, taken at Seafield Bay Beach, Co. Wexford 5. Ann Bruen, “Moonrise Magic” taken in Greenore, Co. Louth. 6. Ciaran Willmore, “Light Breaker”, taken at Clogher Head, Co. Kerry 7. Nina Finn-Kelcey, “Moon Over Cromane”, taken at Cromane Lower, Killorglin, Co. Kerry 8. Noel O Neill, “Minard Castle and Snow Capped Reeks”, taken at Minard Castle Lispole, Tralee, Co. Kerry 9. Adrian Fingleton, “Milky Way”, taken on Brittas Bay, Co. Wicklow 10. Michael Linehan, “Twin Lights”, taken at Great South Bull Wall, Co. Dublin. Source to Sea 1. 1st Place: Helen Black, “Let there be Light”, taken at Glendasan, Co. Wicklow 2. 2nd Place: Felix Sproll, “Rainbow Island”, taken at Pine Island, Connemara, Co. Galway 3. 3rd Place: Aoife Hester, “Mirror Lough”, taken at Kylemore Lough, Connemara, Co. Galway Finalists: 4. Lorraine Schilder, “Sunrise on the Boyne”, taken at Slane Bridge, Slane, Co. Meath 5. Adrian Hendroff, “Lower Lake Aurora”, taken in Glendalough, Co. Wicklow 6. Magnus Huber, “Lough Inagh”, taken at Lough Inagh, Connemara National Park, Co. Galway 7. Michael Goulding, “Machair Dunes at Sunrise”, taken at Machair Dunes, Mulranny, Co. Mayo 8. Terry Conroy, “River Coming Home”, taken at Keem Beach, Achill, Co. Mayo 9. Zoe Lynch, “Beyond the Wall”, taken at The Guinness Lake, Lough Tay, Ballinastoe, Co. Wicklow 10. Barry Murphy, “Beautiful Autumn Waterfall”, taken in Glenmalure, Co. Wicklow Connecting with the Coast 1. 1st Place: Maria Quigley, “Embrace the Water”, taken Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, Co. Dublin. Also, winner of the overall “Photographer of the Year” Award 2025 2. 2nd Place: Martin Byrne, “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway”, taken at White Bay Beach, Co. Cork. 3. Joint 3rd Place: Darragh Gorman, “Play”, taken at Rossnowlagh Co. Donegal 4. Joint 3rd Place: Sasha Coen, “Out of my Depth”, taken at Murder Hole Beach, Sheephaven Bay, Co. Donegal Finalists: 5. Kevin Doyle, “Golden Surge”, taken at Tramore Beach, Co. Waterford 6. Mark Simpson, “Evening Walk”, taken at Sandymount Beach, Co. Dublin 7. Seán Berry, “Kick about at the Beach”, taken at Gyles Quay Co. Louth 8. Dave Stanley, “What a Wonderful World”, taken in Bettystown, Co. Meath 9. Shauna Ward, “Yolanda in the Sea”, taken at Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo 10. Felix Sproll, “Jumping over the Moon”, Blackrock Diving Tower, Salthill, Co. Galway Underwater 1. 1st Place: Mark O'Leary, “The Giants”, taken at Loop Head, Co. Clare 2. 2nd Place: Shazia Waheed, “Blue-rayed Limpets”, taken at Pollock Holes, Kilkee, Co. Clare 3. 3rd Place: Annegret Pfuetzner, “Firework Anemone”, Kilbricken, Co. Galway Finalists: 4. Stephen Frawley, “Dancing in the Light”, taken at Sandycove, Co. Dublin 5. Anna Kellagher, “Cloaked Hermit Crab”, taken in Portmagee, Co. Kerry 6. Brian Casey, “Want to Play?”, taken in Dalkey Island, Co. Dublin 7. Derek Bolton, “Emerald Jewel”, taken at Small Sovereign Island, Oysterhaven Bay, Co. Cork. 8. Éabha Hughes, “Hiding in Plain Sight”, taken in Kilkee, Co. Clare. 9. Ivan Donoghue, “Tompot Blenny”, taken at Hook Head, Co Wexford 10. John Bennett, “Camouflage and Calm, Nature's Illusionist”, taken at Cape Clear Island, Co. Cork Wildlife and the Coast 1. 1st Place: Tom Ormond, “Humpback Whale”, taken at Donegal Bay, Co. Donegal. 2. 2nd Place: Dan Ryan, “Death At Dusk”, taken at Dungarvan Harbour, Co. Waterford 3. 3rd Place: Christopher Howes, “Sealed with a Kiss”, taken at Brides Head, Wicklow Town, Co. Wicklow Finalists: 4. Stephen Dunbar, “Shag”, Saltee Islands, Co. Wexford 5. Des Glynn, “Rock Pipit”, Great Saltee Island, Co. Wexford 6. Anna Kellagher, Sunbathing Lizard, Derrynane Co. Kerry 7. Fabienne Perrin, “Cormorant Twin”, taken at Ireland's Eye, Co Dublin 8. Piotr Rak, “Scavenger”, Taken at North Bull Island Nature Reserve 9. Christopher Martin, “Grey Seal Meal”, taken at the River Lee, in Cork City 10. Christopher Howes, “Star Fisher”, taken at Arklow South Beach, Arklow, Co. Wicklow