Four photographs captured at Cork locations have been shortlisted in the prestigious 2025 Love Your Coast Photography Awards, showcasing the county’s stunning coastal and marine environments at the ceremony held in Dublin last Friday.

The annual competition, now in its 16th year, celebrates Ireland’s coastal beauty through the lens of talented photographers nationwide. This year saw over 560 photographers submit 1,178 entries vying for a share of the €5,000 prize fund.

Cork’s coastal beauty was highlighted through Martin Byrne’s evocative image “Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway”, captured at White Bay Beach in Cork, which claimed second place in the ‘Connecting with the Coast’ category. The photograph depicts a solitary swimmer preparing to brave the winter waters.

Martin Byrne:

“White Bay beach in Cork is an extremely popular destination for swimmers and sunbathers during the months of Summer. In the Winter, less so. On a January day of grey skies and strong surf I noticed this lone swimmer hesitating before she committed to taking the plunge. A high vantage point and a 200-500mm lens allowed me to capture what I knew was a moment in time which I was unlikely to come across again.”

Cork’s underwater world was well represented in the competition. Derek Bolton’s “Emerald Jewel”, captured whilst diving with friends at Small Sovereign Island in Oysterhaven Bay, Cork, secured a shortlist position in the ‘Underwater’ category. John Bennett’s “Camouflage and Calm, Nature’s Illusionist”, featuring a camouflaged octopus photographed at Cape Clear Island, Cork, also made the underwater shortlist.

Christopher Martin’s “Grey Seal Meal”, showing a seal in the River Lee right in Cork City, earned a spot in the ‘Wildlife and the Coast’ category shortlist, bringing urban wildlife photography into the spotlight.

Cork-based photographers also achieved recognition for work captured beyond county borders. Shazia Waheed, based in Cork, secured second place in the ‘Underwater’ category with “Blue-rayed Limpets”, photographed at the Pollock Holes in Kilkee, County Clare.

Shazia Waheed:

“I was mesmerised by the clarity of the water and the vibrant colours as I snorkelled through the famous Pollock Holes at Kilkee, Co. Clare. Snorkelling in such calm still water at low tide allowed me to get close enough to capture the stunning blue iridescence of an especially large colony of blue-rayed limpets on kelp, which is normally very difficult in open water as the kelp fronds sway back and forth in the current.”

Barry Murphy, also Cork-based, was recognised as a finalist in the ‘Source to Sea’ category for “Beautiful Autumn Waterfall”, captured in Glenmalure, County Wicklow.

The overall Photographer of the Year award went to Dublin’s Maria Quigley for her stunning image “Embrace the Water”, taken at Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, capturing a hardy swimmer in 7°C waters during January’s icy conditions.

Bronagh Moore, Clean Coasts Programme Manager:

“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.”

The competition introduced two new categories this year: ‘Connecting with the Coast’ and ‘Source to Sea’, designed to highlight the unique relationship between people and Ireland’s waterways. The traditional categories of Coastal Landscape, Wildlife and The Coast, and Underwater continued to draw strong entries.

The Love Your Coast Photography Awards are organised by An Taisce’s Clean Coasts programme, with support from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Fáilte Ireland. The competition aims to showcase Ireland’s spectacular coastline whilst raising awareness about coastal conservation efforts.

For Cork, having four locations featured in the national shortlist reinforces the county’s reputation for offering some of Ireland’s most photogenic coastal and marine environments, from the popular swimming spots of White Bay Beach to the wildlife-rich waters around Cape Clear Island.