The beauty around the county of Donegal has been pictured brilliantly in the awards for the 2022 ‘Love Your Coast’ competition.
Darragh Gorman earned a 3rd place in the ‘Creativity and the Coast’ category with his image ‘Sun Surfer’ captured at the beautiful Bundoran beach, with Classiebawn Castle slightly visible.
3rd place Creativity & the Coast: Darragh Gorman – Sun Surfer, Bundoran, Co. Donegal
Darragh said on his entry: “I have surfed and photographed this area more times than I can remember. I have tried for years to get a surfer in action with Classiebawn Castle in the background.
“It’s fairly straightforward to photograph a surfer, a castle and a sunset but lining them all up took some patience and a lot of luck.”
Moreover, Gary McCall with “Peaty River Meets the Atlantic” shot in Dunfanaghy and Samantha O’Connor with “Sunset at Fanad Lighthouse, co. Donegal” capture in the Fanad Penisula, were shortlisted in the top ten in the Creativity and the Coast and Coastal Landscape categories, respectively.
Top 10 Creativity & the Coast: Gary McCall – Peaty River meets the Atlantic, Dunfanaghy, Co. Donegal
Gary said on his snap: “An aerial photo showing the beautiful patterns in a peat-rich river as it meets a North Donegal beach and the Atlantic. The incredible Tree shape was a complete surprise.
“I recently returned to check how it looked but the water and sand banks have since changed shape again and the tree has withered. Shot from drone with camera facing vertically down.”
Top 10 Coastal Landscape: Samantha O’Connor – Sunset at Fanad Lighthouse, Co. Donegal, Fanad Peninsula, Fanad, Co. Donegal
Darragh also won the overall category with his “Splash”, captured in Mullaghmore Co. Sligo, which was awarded the title of Image of the Year.
Overall winner: Darragh Gorman, Splash, Mullaghmore Co. Sligo
Classiebawn Castle also was featured in the winning selection of the Coastal Heritage category, by Brian Campbell, with ‘In the Shadow of a Giant!’, across Donegal Bay.
Coastal Heritage 1st place: 1st place Brian Campbell – In the Shadow of a Giant!, Classiebawn Castle, Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo
“With its unmistakable shape, it’s a popular landmark in Donegal Bay to photograph. I really wanted a unique perspective and to show it under new light.
“I also wanted to include the mighty Benbulben looming large in the background. It took multiple attempts to get the perfect angle and to line it when the conditions were right. I used a long lens and shot from over 10km away.
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.”
