A striking photo captured in Salthill has won a top award in a national photography competition.
"Stick Man" snapped by Adrian Nolan was announced as the winner of the Coastal Landscape category in the 2026 Clean Coasts Love Your Coasts competition.
It shows a lightning bolt striking Galway Bay off the Prom, and it resembles a stick figure walking in the water.
Meanwhile, photographer Mark. N Thomas placed second in the category for his photo of a goby fish sheltering in a clam shell at Aughrus Pier in Connemara.
Several other Galway photographers were shortlisted - full details and photos of the winners and local shortlisters below.
Adrian Nolan came in first place in the 'Coastal Landscape' category as part of the 2026 Clean Coasts Love Your Coast Photography Competition with his photograph "Stick Man"; his image captures a lightning strike resembling a stick man taken at Salthill Promenade, Co. Galway. “I had been hoping to get the opportunity to catch a lightning storm for some years and was finally rewarded in late summer on the Salthill Promenade. The water is frozen by the flash directly over it while the water at the edges near the rocks is smooth from the 30 second exposure. I was told that the lightning bolt resembled a stick man walking over Galway and out into the bay,” Adrian said.
Mark N. Thomas placed joint second in the 'Underwater' category with his image "Goby & Clam Shell". This image captures a little goby fish using a discarded clam shell for shelter, taken in the waters of 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,” Mark said. Mark is also a finalist in the 'Underwater' category with his image "Dahlia" which captures a colourful dahlia anemone which stands out against the grey concrete pier, taken in the waters of Aughrus Pier, Connemara, Co. Galway.
A further three images placed in the shortlist across three categories. Magnus Huber is a finalist in the 'Coastal Landscape' category with his image "Dawn at Blackrock Diving Tower", which captures the dawn breaking at Blackrock Diving Tower in Galway. Michael Deligan's image "Morning Veil on Claddagh Basin" is a finalist in the 'Source to Sea' category, his image was taken as the morning mist drifted across the historic Claddagh Basin. In the ‘Underwater’ category, Annegret Pfuetzner’s image "Stalked Jellyfish" is a finalist. This image captures a seagrass habitat with a colourful stalked jellyfish, at Coral Strand, Co. Galway.
