Schools photography award winners announced
The inaugural winners of Ireland’s National School Photography Awards [INSPA] have been announced. Seán Gill from Scoil Bhride, Ballyboy, Co Offaly, has been selected as Ireland’s overall winner with his entry, 'Grandad’s Hands' and Eoin Cloke from Courtnacuddy NS in Wexford became the national winner of the Junior Category with his entry, 'Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow'.
INSPA is a national children’s photography competition which is open to all primary schools located in the Republic of Ireland. This year’s award partners were The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Image Masters Photography, MummyPages and Dublin Zoo and the awards saw over 150 primary schools from across the Republic of Ireland request to participate.
Young creatives from around Ireland were encouraged to use digital technologies and the creative process to create striking visual images around the theme of Making Memories. Each year INSPA teams with inspiring Irish charities to help raise awareness and vital funds towards their future endeavours.
This year’s awards offered a range of fantastic prizes for finalists, winners and their schools including free entry to Dublin Zoo for the overall winner and their classmates, digital cameras for winners and their schools, framed photographs, certificates of achievement and school photography fundraising days in aid of The Alzheimer Society of Ireland.
Entries were judged by a national panel including John Boyle (INTO president), Ronan Smith (chair of ASI Irish Dementia Working Group), Aideen Howard (director, The Ark, Dublin), Catherine Bowe (visual art manager, Wexford Art Centre) and Richard Carr, artist and school liaison for Image Masters).
The INSPA team congratulates every school who participated in the first year of the INSPAs and would encourage others to request their schools access codes if they have not done so already. If your school would like to get involved in the 2018/19 awards they can request their schools access codes from the INSPA website – www.inspa.ie