On the 26th of June we enjoyed the club BBQ, together with our annual awards night and announcement of POTY (Photographer of the year) results.

After a few weeks of nice weather, the 26th offered rain, but we still had an enjoyable evening together, under the roofs of the Alley Garden Bar, connected to the O’Donovan’s hotel in Clonakilty. Burgers with various accessories were served, and drinks were purchased inside the bar.

Celtic Ross Hotel charity exhibition

During the club year, we had again the opportunity to exhibit members’ photos at the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery. This time the club collected €850 which went to Meals on wheels. Dave Sheehan, who is volunteering with Clonakilty meals on wheels, received the cheque and talked about the good work being done.

Photographer of the year

This time, our POTY competition was divided into three competition, each with its own theme. The competitions were all held during the club year, starting in September 2023, to enable new members to join.

1st competition – Reflections. September 2023.
2nd competition – Leading lines. December 2023.
3rd competition – Coastline and Seascapes. April 2024.

The scores of these three competitions were then added together to determine the club’s Photographer of the year 2023-2024. The winners were as follows:

Flower competition

Patricia Costello, who couldn’t be there on the night, was the winner of the flower competition announced at the photoshoot at Skibbereen Gardening Centre. She received her prize, a gift card at the gardening centre, at the AGM.

Other awards

Two other members were given appreciation for what they do for the club – our secretary Siobhan Heffernan O’Regan for her hard work with organising our events and meetings, and Susanne Svalefelt for her ongoing work with managing (and redesigning, which had to be done yet again during this club year because of a technical problem) the website.