Declare your love for Mayo's coast this Valentine’s Day

This Valentine's Day, An Taisce’s Clean Coasts Programme invites photographers to fall in love with the coast with the return of the Love Your Coast photography competition for 2026.

With an extensive coastline along the western seaboard, Mayo is a great place for photographers to set up and capture what could be the winning entry.

Now in its 17th year, the Love Your Coast competition continues to attract hundreds of photographers from across the country. This year, Clean Coasts have aligned the competition with Valentine’s Day once again to inspire photographers to truly fall in love with the coast and capture its breathtaking beauty, character, and the reasons it is so deserving of care and protection.

Photographers are being encouraged to consider the theme of 'Impact' this year when they take to the coast to snap their photos, as the lens through which they explore the ever-evolving relationship between people, nature, and the coast. The theme invites reflection on both the positive and negative ways our oceans, waterways and shorelines are shaped by human activities and natural forces, and how these environments, in turn, can impact our lives, wellbeing and communities.

From conservation and care to pollution and climate pressures, photographers are encouraged to capture how these vital blue spaces are impacted by our actions, and how time spent along the coast impacts those who visit them.

With an overall prize fund of €5,000 for category winners, Love Your Coast offers photographers the opportunity to showcase their talent across five distinct areas. Each of these categories highlights different aspects of Ireland’s coastal environment, celebrating our unique coastline. From tranquil waves, dramatic cliffs and golden sands to vibrant coastal communities, diverse marine wildlife and rich heritage, each category offers a chance to showcase the beauty and significance of the Irish coast.

The categories are: Coastal Landscape, People and the Coast, Source to Sea, Wildlife and the Coast, and Underwater. These categories invite photographers to capture the diverse and breathtaking elements of Ireland's coastline, celebrating its natural wonders and the vital connection between people and the sea, taken within the last 24 months.

To support participants, Clean Coasts will provide helpful resources and guidelines for photographers to optimise their skills and submissions. This includes a detailed guide with tips from the competition judges and information on each category, which will be published on the website in the coming weeks. Entries open on Valentine’s Day (Saturday, February 14) and close on May 15.

The Clean Coasts Love Your Coast Photography Competition is kindly supported by the Department of Climate Energy and the Environment and Fáilte Ireland.

CONNECTION

Clean Coasts marked the launch of the competition recently by visiting Coliemore Harbour in Dalkey, Co. Dublin, for a special promotional photoshoot with the 2025 Love Your Coast overall winner, Maria Quigley.

Joined by Bobby Gordon, the subject of her winning image, Maria revisited the very location where her standout photograph was captured a year prior – a place that perfectly embodies the connection between people and the coast. Set against the familiar backdrop of the harbour, the shoot reflected on the lasting impact of that winning moment, highlighting how a single photograph can tell a powerful story about place, community, relationships and responsibility.

Commenting on the competition, Tim Nuttall of the Department of Climate Energy and the Environment said: “The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment is proud to be part of An Taisce’s Love Your Coast photography competition, which features as one of the annual highlights of their Clean Coasts programme. The message of caring for our marine environment along with the high-quality images themselves which showcase the enormous range of marine biodiversity and seascapes is one which we are more than happy to support.”

Shane Dineen of Fáilte Ireland added: “Fáilte Ireland is once again delighted to support the Love Your Coast Photography competition for 2026. The rolling waves of the Atlantic Ocean, Irish Sea and Celtic Sea make for endlessly changing sights and when combined with our unpredictable weather, they provide delight and surprise for locals and visitors alike.

“The imagery from the photographers each year plays an important role in highlighting the diverse marine wildlife and our maritime heritage on our island. We wish the very best of luck to all entrants as they capture the essence of the Irish coastline.”

Bronagh Moore, Clean Coasts programme manager, stated: “Every year we look forward to seeing the stunning images that are entered into this competition. We have hugely talented photographers in this country and an amazingly diverse coastline as a subject, so it’s an honour to be able to showcase their work and our beautiful coastline through this competition.

“With ‘impact’ as our theme this year, I’m looking forward to seeing the ways in which photographers capture how our actions both positive and negative impact on the coast.”

For more information about Love Your Coast and to submit your entries, visit https://cleancoasts.org/our-initiatives/love-your-coast.