FIRST PLACE 

UNDERWATER

World's Best Dad

Girl Arlene Shipwreck, Hook, CO Wexford

Nearly 30 metres under the sea on a shipwreck off Co. Wexford, I photographed this male butterfly blenny tucked inside a rusting pipe who simply would not budge.

It was only when I was reviewing the shots back on land that I realized the pipe was full of eggs! Butterfly blennies are devout dads, fiercely defending their eggs in late summer from hungry crabs and curious divers, and are a species that's rarely reported off our coasts due to the depths it prefers to live at, which is why this blenny's family photo means so much to me.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Éabha Hughes

SECOND PLACE

UNDERWATER

Goby & Clam Shell

Aughrus Pier, Connemara, CO Galway

These inquisitive little fish can be excellent subjects for the underwater photographer, often seen hiding under shells or in burrows in the sand.

This wee fella was using a discarded clam shell for cover.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Mark N. Thomas

SECOND PLACE

UNDERWATER

A Different Direction

Forty Foot, Dún Laoghaire, CO Dublin

This image captures a lion's mane jellyfish colliding with a compass jellyfish, taken at the Forty Foot in Dún Laoghaire, CO Dublin. 

PHOTOGRAPHER: Gordon Leonard

THIRD PLACE

UNDERWATER

Trinity: Spidercrab, Diver and Shipwreck

Saltee Islands, CO Wexford

In photography, a grouping of three is considered harmonious. Humans like viewing things in threes.

This spider crab though has no interest in threes and doesn't care that they, a shipwreck and an adventurous diver are coming together to give an aesthetically pleasing underwater photograph. 

PHOTOGRAPHER: Ivan Donoghue

Stalked Jellyfish

Coral Strand, CO Galway

Much is said about the importance of seagrass for carbon storage, water quality and as marine nursery, but it is also home for some of the most beautiful ocean creatures: stalked jellies.

These tiny animals are not easy to find (and due to the constant movement of the seagrass also not easy to capture).

PHOTOGRAPHER: Annegret Pfuetzner

Common Prawn with Lightbulb Sea Squirts

New Quay, CO Clare

Sea squirts have long been a source of fascination, especially the light bulb sea squirt, whose translucent body and conical form make it a striking underwater subject.

I had hoped to capture them within their natural setting rather than in isolation, and this inquisitive common prawn provided the perfect companion, pausing on a vertical surface opposite the sea squirts to complete the scene.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Clive Tanner

Dinner Date

New Quay, CO Clare

Many people associate brightly coloured sea slugs with warm, tropical waters thousands of kilometres away, and while Ireland's species are usually smaller, they certainly aren't any less colourful!

I photographed this pretty pink pair of Edmundsella pedata on a drift dive in New Quay, CO Clare, feeding on a hydroid, their favourite food.

Looking closer you can see that this dinner date has taken a romantic turn, as the left slug is gently laying a ribbon of tiny pink eggs around the hydroid.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Éabha Hughes

Spiny Starfish, Marthasterias Glacialis, in the Kelp Forest

Trafrask, Bantry Bay, CO Cork

While snorkelling in the kelp forests of Bantry Bay, I found this spiny starfish nestled in amongst the undulating fronds.

I waited for the right moment when the water's movement revealed sunlight onto it and then snapped this shot.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Julia Cooper

The Finer Details of Marine Life

Garrarus Beach, Copper Coast, CO Waterford

On this day, I went for a very cold swim with my dad, at the beach I have grown up on, with the very man who has inspired my love for the ocean.

Every single day we see seaweed washed up onshore, with small indents taken from it, here are the culprits in action, beautiful.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Kai Willmott