High standard of photography at photo competition

“I WAS absolutely delighted with the level and quality of the images entered,” comments Chairperson of the IPF Midlands-East Region Committee, Ms Louise Skelly.

The 2026 Regional Final and Qualifiers of the Irish Photographic Federation National Photography Competition Midlands East Region took place on Sunday, March 29 at Áras Chrónáin, Irish Cultural Centre, Clondalkin, Dublin.

This competition was organised by the IPF Midlands-East regional committee and was hosted by Clondalkin Camera Club.

45 photographers from 13 photography clubs in the Midlands-East region entered 467 print and digital images for consideration by the judges.

The event was officially opened by Ms Ita Hegarty, President of the Irish Photographic Federation.

This in-person event, three judges scored the images, awarding a maximum of 15 points for each image.

High-scoring images qualified for the National Photography Finals taking place on April 11 in Clane.

Images were entered in each of six photographic categories: Activity, Creative, Open Colour, Open Mono, and People.

According to Ms Skelly, the number of images entered has increased again over 2025 and represents a “new and growing commitment to high-standard photography across the region.”

Medals were awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each category in both the Advanced and non-advanced sections.

The best image of the competition also received a voucher from Conn’s Cameras.

The club was delighted to have an all-female panel of skilled, proficient and recognised, highly qualified expert photographers as judges for the competition to adjudicate the images before them.

Winners included Aoife Finnegan, Enid Conaghan, Brian McKeown, Noeleen Dowdall, Joseph Joyce, and Mick Clemenger from Clondalkin Camera Club.

Clondalkin Camera Club would like to give their special thanks to Judges Ms Viv Buckley of Mallow Camera Club, Co. Cork; Ms Jennifer Willis of Catchlight Camera Club, Belfast; and Ms Anne Cassidy of Enniskillen Camera Club, Co. Fermanagh.

Ms Skelly went on to express her thanks and gratitude to the photographers who entered, the “excellent” judges, her committee and to the hard work of the volunteers from Clondalkin Camera Club who organised much of the logistics for the day.

“A special thanks also to the directors of Áras Chrónáin, Irish Cultural Centre, for the use of their premises – Go raibh míle maith agaibh.”

Ms Hegarty, meanwhile, was “really happy and delighted” with the quality and creativity of the images on display and thanked Louise Skelly and her team for organising the event in such a “competent and professional manner”.

She wished all photographers “the very best of luck in the regional final and hopes that all will have images qualified for the National Finals.”