Laytown resident Dave Stanley’s Border Collie Lily must be one of the best walked dogs in Ireland. Every day Lily can be seen out on the beach at Laytown and Bettystown with Dave who is a lifelong photography fan.
Over the years Dave, a retired French teacher, has been delighting his many Facebook followers with his beautiful images of the sea, the people he meets and the local beaches which are literally on his doorstep.
In 2019 Dave won one of the top prizes in the “Love Your Coast” photography competition which has been run by An Taisce for the past 13 years and this year he has won awards for two of his photographs.
Dave’s images “Paradise Beach” and “Laytown Viaduct”, both taken in Laytown, where shortlisted among the top ten images in the People and the Coast and Coastal Heritage categories, respectively.
About “Paradise Beach”, Dave said: “Unusual to see nuns in full habit nowadays and even more so to see them “having the craic” strolling along the beach in the winter’s sun!
“I wanted to get them unawares so I ran ahead and managed to capture that sense of fun with my long lens. Afterwards, I introduced myself to the sisters (They’re from Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Convent in Ardee) and they were very open and uplifting to talk to.”
Dave said of his other winning photograph “Laytown Viaduct” that he always wanted to capture the majesty of this viaduct and planned his shot when he discovered that the Railway Preservation Society was running a steam engine.
After hours of waiting and standing in the rain, almost magically, the sun appeared and then Dave heard the steam engine approaching and another stunning and prize-winning shot was “in the bag.”
Dave Stanley’s stunnning photo of a steam train crossing Laytown Viaduct.
For 13 years the “Love Your Coast” photography competition has invited photographers to capture the uniqueness of Irelad’s coastal landscape, heritage, wildlife, communities and more, and to submit their best shot across five categories – Coastal Heritage, Coastal Landscape, People & the Coast, Wildlife & the Coast and Creativity and the Coast – for a chance to win prizes from a €5,000 prize fund and plenty of exposure opportunities.
Coastal Communities Manager Sinead McCoy said: “We were delighted to be able to celebrate in person again both the beauty of the Irish coast and the talent of the photographers who entered our competition, after a two-year break.
“This year, we receive over 1,100 entries and the 50 best images were shortlisted and displayed at our event at Smock Alley.
“Darragh Gorman with his “Splash”, captured in Mullaghmore Co. Sligo has been awarded the title of “Image of the Year”.
