Edith O'Donnell's 'Odds On'.

Lucan and Cork top schools photos competition

The winners of Ireland’s National School Photography Awards (INSPA) have been announced. Jaida Purdue from Lucan Community National School has been selected as Ireland’s overall winner with the entry 'Car Engine', and Edith O'Donnell from Scoil Naisiunta an Chroi Naofa became the national winner of the Senior Category with the entry 'Odds On'.

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 LauraLynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice, Image Masters Photography, FujiFilm’s INSTAX Brand and the Amber Springs Resort Hotel. To date the awards have seen over 300 primary schools from across the Republic of Ireland request to participate.

Jaida Purdue's 'Car Engine'

This year young creatives from around Ireland were encouraged to use digital technologies and the creative process to create striking visual images around the theme of 'Connections'. Each year INSPA works 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 the Amber Springs Easter Train Experience 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 LauraLynn. On top of this, the awards also offer a range a package prizes for winning principals, teachers and families at the Amber Springs.

All entries were judged by a national panel including Joe Kileen (INTO president), Tanya Kiang (CEO and co-director of the Gallery of Photography), Liam Magee (president, Cumann na mBunscol), Linda Shevlin (curator, Roscommon Arts Centre), Michael Fortune (artist), Niamh Doyle (community fundraising executive, Lauralynn) and Richard Carr (INSPA curator and school liaison for Image Masters).

The INSPA team congratulates every school who participated in this year’s awards and would encourage others to register their school if they have not done so already. If a school would like to get involved in the 2019/20 awards, request a schools access code from the INSPA website – www.inspa.ie