A striking photograph (above) of an otter carrying a crab along Cork city’s River Lee has been named the overall winner of the 2026 Love Your Coast Photography Competition.
Cork photographer Chris Martin’s image, A Bit of a Pinch, was selected as Photograph of the Year and also took first place in the Wildlife and the Coast category.
The winners were announced by An Taisce’s Clean Coasts programme at an awards ceremony in Dublin’s Smock Alley Theatre on Thursday (16 July).
More than 390 amateur photographers submitted 1,101 photographs to this year’s competition, with 50 images shortlisted across five categories. The €5,000 prize fund was shared among the winners.
Martin captured the winning image late one spring evening while following an otter as it searched among steps and openings in Cork’s old quay walls.
“I followed this male otter along the River Lee in Cork City one April evening, watching him investigate the steps and nooks and crannies in the old quay walls, when he suddenly appeared with this fiery-coloured crab,” he said.
“He immediately took it under the next bridge to enjoy it in privacy away from the ever-alert gulls.”
The annual Love Your Coast competition is now in its 17th year and celebrates Ireland’s coastline, waterways, wildlife and coastal communities.
The theme for the 2026 competition was “Impact”, inviting photographers to explore the relationship between people and nature and the marks each leaves upon the coastal environment.
Lightning Strikes at Salthill
Adrian Nolan won the Coastal Landscape category with Stick Man, a dramatic photograph of lightning over Galway Bay, taken from Salthill Promenade.
The branching lightning bolts appear to form the outline of a human figure above the water.
Stick Man — Adrian Nolan won the Coastal Landscape category with this lightning strike resembling a human figure over Galway Bay, photographed from Salthill Promenade in Co Galway
Tyrone Power received the separate Impact Award for Bramzilla, photographed at Tramore Pier in Co Waterford during Storm Bram in December 2025.
Power said the breaking wave resembled “a roaring sea monster rising from the depths”.
October Swimmers at Inch Beach
Paul Flynn took first place in the People and the Coast category with In for a Dip, featuring two swimmers entering the Atlantic beneath a dramatic sky at Inch Beach on the Dingle Peninsula.
In for a Dip — Paul Flynn won the People and the Coast category with this photograph of two swimmers braving the October weather at Inch Beach on the Dingle Peninsula in Co Kerry
Blenny Guards Eggs at Hook Head
Éabha Hughes won the Underwater category with World’s Best Dad, photographed at the wreck of the Girl Arlene off Hook Head in Co Wexford.
The close-up shows a male butterfly blenny guarding a mass of fish eggs in a pipe behind him.
World’s Best Dad — Éabha Hughes won the Underwater category with this male butterfly blenny guarding fish eggs at the wreck of the Girl Arlene off Hook Head in Co Wexford
Bull Island Channels Win Source to Sea
Pawel Zygmunt won the Source to Sea category with Tidal Rivers, an aerial photograph of pale blue tidal channels weaving through the landscape at Bull Island in Dublin Bay.
The image was taken in early spring as thawing waters created an abstract pattern across the coastal wetlands.
Tidal Rivers — Pawel Zygmunt won the Source to Sea category with this aerial view of pale blue tidal channels winding through the early spring landscape at Bull Island in Dublin Bay
Clean Coasts programme manager Bronagh Moore said the competition continued to demonstrate the talent and creativity of photographers around Ireland.
“Our theme of ‘impact’ this year serves as a reminder that our every action has an impact, both positive and negative,” she said.
“We must all play our part in ensuring our actions serve to protect and care for our coast, waterways, ocean and marine life.”
The competition was supported by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment and Fáilte Ireland.
