Derek Bolton came came first in the ‘Underwater’ category of the 2023 Clean Coasts LYC photo competition with ‘Emerald Jewel’, featuring a beatifully captured Jewel Anemone, taken in Sovereign Island in Co Cork.

FIRST PLACE

WILDLIFE & UNDER WATER

Emerald Jewel

Sovereign Island, Co Cork

Jewel Anemones thrive in areas of strong currents that have low light. Due to this desire for low light, they are usually found around 30m depths in Irish waters. However, these animals can also be found in shallow waters hiding in overhang areas protected from direct light. This particular Jewel was taken at a depth of 20m hiding inside an underwater swim through. The swim through is often referred to as a cave as it has this appearance underwater. Its site name is The Grotto due to the large amount of Jewel encrusted walls inside and outside of the cavern. It is a very popular dive site located on the Small Sovereign Island just outside Oysterhaven Bay in Co Cork. Photographing Jewels is always challenging as they like to cling flat to rock or cave wall surfaces making it very difficult to achieve a desirable camera angle when shooting. This image is taken using a compact camera approximately 5mm from the Jewel itself and a torch to create the uplight effect.

PHOTOGRAPHER: DEREK BOLTON

Ryan Murray came second in the ‘Underwater’ category as part of the the 2023 Clean Coasts Love Your Coast photography competition with the ‘Basking Shark Plankton Buffer’, an image taken at Ventry Bay in Co Kerry.

SECOND PLACE

WILDLIFE & UNDER WATER

Basking Shark Plankton Buffet

Ventry Bay, Co Kerry

At sizes of up to 11 meters in length, basking sharks are the 2nd largest living shark and can be spotted in Irish waters during spring/summer months when they come to feed. Having spent the last four years searching for basking sharks along the Kerry coastline I finally had the opportunity when ~70 sharks visited Ventry Bay for an apparent plankton buffet. This basking shark was feeding close by where I was snorkeling and paid little interest in me as it passed me by and disappeared into the plankton soup.

PHOTOGRAPHER: RYAN MURRAY

Richard O’ Donnell came third in the 2023 LYC ‘Underwater’ category with this image, ‘Sun Bathing Compass Jelly Fish’, taken at The Birds in Valentia Island, Co Kerry.

THIRD PLACE

WILDLIFE & UNDER WATER

Sun Bathing Compass Jelly Fish

The Birds ,Valentia Island, Co Kerry.

"The image Sunbathing Compass Jellyfish was captured at a dive site at Valentia Island, Co Kerry, back in June. The dive site is called the Birds.

I was diving with my dive club, Inbhear Sceine Sub Aqua Club. A small but adventurous club based out of the Iveragh Peninsula, diving everywhere from Kells Bay to Dingle Bay.

I was completing my safety stop in approximately 6 metres of depth. One great tip I have learned along my photography journey underwater is to always look up for an interesting composition.

I was very lucky on this day as a few things had aligned for the shot. The shallow clean waters of Valentia and the presence of the sun directly above created this dramatic image.

Myself, I am diving over 20 years, but only took up photography this year properly. Previously I was producing some Shakey GoPro clips. I have since moved on to an Olympus Compact camera in a dive housing. This camera is lit by two underwater flashes.

The irony of this shot is that as a child I was absolutely terrified by jellyfish. But, of course, they are now one of my favorite underwater subjects. I think their alien-like appearance is what fascinates people about them."

PHOTOGRAPHER: RICHARD O'DONNELL

Ivan Donoghue was shortlisted in the ‘Underwater’ category with ‘Collision Avoidance’, an image taken at The Saltee Islands in Co Wexford.

Collision Avoidance

Saltee Islands, Co Wexford

Photo was taken in September of 2023, behind the Saltee islands in County Wexford. The dive was nondescript until a few seals turned up. If you stay where you are, a curious seal will come check you out. This picture is of the seal just as they were turning left and banking to swim away.

PHOTOGRAPHER: IVAN DONOGHUE

Maria McSweeney was scuba diving when she captured this image entitled ‘Moon Jellyfish Bloom’, taken at Seal's House Dive Site in Inis Mór, Co Galway; a finalist in the ‘Underwater’ category.

Moon Jellyfish Bloom

Seals house dive site Inis Mor

This image was taken off the coast of the Inis Mor (24th of July) while I was collaborating with the Dive school there called Dive Academy as a underwater photographer during the month of July. There was a big moon jellyfish bloom for a few on the days in Mid July due to the Gulf Stream bringing thousands of moon jellyfish to the shores of the islands. It was taken while coming up from a scuba dive.

PHOTOGRAPHER: MARIA MCSWEENEY

Ivan Donoghue's image ‘Permission to Land’ features the air bubbles of a diver exhaling while swimming at Hook Head, Co Wexford; a finalist in the ‘Underwater’ category.

Permission To Land

Hook Head, Co Wexford

Crystal clear waters off Co Wexford back in June of 2023 allowed me to take "Permission to Land". In the picture you can see the shipwreck from the bow section to the winch and through to the reef wall at the back. The diver in the picture is Emma Byrne who is a member of Wexford Sub Aqua Club. Emma exhibits perfect buoyancy control as she hovers over the hull of the shipwreck. You can see Emma is not wearing gloves, so the water was warm that day. You can see all the equipment a diver needs to breathe underwater. You can see her exhaled breath rising as expanding bubbles towards the surface. If you look really close you can see her air pressure gauge. It reads about 150 bar of air remaining which is equivalent to filling a car tyre seventy times. The red section is to indicate to the diver when they have about a quarter of air left and it is time to surface.

PHOTOGRAPHER: IVAN DONOGHUE

Shazia Waheed's beautful image ‘Shore Clingfish’ was taken at Kilmore Quay in Co Wexford; a finalist in the ‘Underwater’ category.

Shore Clingfish

Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford

I came across this little fish while rockpooling along Kilmore Quay in Wexford where I was on holiday for a few days in May this year. There were many large rockpools at low tide with plenty small boulders and flat rocks providing a perfect habitat for intertidal fish and other marine life. Among other marine life including blennies and gobies, I was especially delighted to find this shore clingfish as it has such an unusual appearance and tends to have a patchy, localised distribution, not occurring on every rocky shore. It's duck-billed snout, blue eye-spots, head tentacles, tadpole shape and modified fins creating a suction cup make it very unique and a great subject to photograph!

PHOTOGRAPHER: SHAZIA WAHEED

Maja Stankovski's image ‘My First Basking Shark’ captures the curiosity of a shark intrigued by a human in the water at Skellig Michael in Co Kerry; a finalist in the ‘Underwater’ category.

My First Basking Shark

Skellig Michael, Co Kerry

This was my first sighting of a basking shark in the water and it happened by complete luck. The basking shark was in the little harbour of Skelling Michael and curiously swam past me and checked me out. This was a completely different experience seeing such a large animal in the water compared to a boat sighting. The encounter was purely on shark's terms and after it checked me out, it effortlessly swam away.

PHOTOGRAPHER MAJA STANKOVSKI

Mark Thomas took this striking image, entitled ‘Plaice Face’, at Aughrus Bay in Claddaghduff, Co Galway; a finalist in the ‘Underwater’ category.

Plaice Face

Aughrus Bay, Claddaghduff

Plaice seem very confident in their camouflage, so much so that they remain motionless on the sea bed when approached, enabling the photographer to move in for a close up shot.

PHOTOGRAPHER: MARK THOMAS

Rory Maccanna was shortlisted for this beautiful image, entitled ‘Common Blenny’, taken on Coral Strand Beach in Carraroe, Co Galway; a finalist in the ‘Underwater’ category.

Common Blenny

Trá an Dóilín

"Snorkelling has become one of my favourite summer activities over the last few years and I have started a small project to try and document and identify as many species as I can when out snorkelling.

This photo was taken at a fantastic snorkel spot in Connemara, Trá an Doilín.

The crystal clear waters and the bright sunlight near the water's surface made for excellent conditions to capture photos. The blenny's habit of sitting perfectly still to blend in with the rocks also helped."

PHOTOGRAPHER: RORY MACCANNA