A Galway-based photographer took top prize in a national competition with a pic of his octogenarian grandmother emerging from the sea after a swim!

Maclaine Black, who lives in Ardrahan, captured the image of his grandmother Frances Black, a member of the Portstewart Bathing Club. Frances is a member of the ‘Seabird’ local swimming and social club in Portstewart in Northern Ireland.

Maclaine himself works as a photographer, focusing mainly on music events and portraits. And this personal portrait he entitled Seabird landed him first prize and a €500 gift voucher in a competition designed to highlight how older adults enrich our lives and communities.

The How We Age photography competition aimed to capture these senior citizens – across the island of Ireland – working in their local community, volunteering in local clubs and groups, learning new skills, or passing on traditions to the next generation.

The brainchild of Institute of Public Health – helping to shape public health policy across the island for the last 25 years – and this was a follow-on to its inaugural How We Age contest two years ago.

The 2022 competition led to the development of a gallery of images that would better represent and more accurately portray what it means to age or get older in Ireland.

This year, photographers were invited to capture older people engaged in work, teaching, learning, or volunteering in their local communities and the standard and quality of entries did not disappoint.

The scores of entries captured the valued contributions and lived experiences of older adults, who were portrayed engaging in a wide range of activities at the heart of their communities, from working in a barber shop, volunteering in local sports and social groups, to teaching or learning new skills.

Members of the judging panel were hugely impressed by the range and creativity of entries and noted the rich and valued role that older adults play within and at the heart of local communities.

Over the coming weeks a selection of images from this year’s entries will be included in IPH’s existing How We Age gallery, which is used by the Institute to promote healthy ageing and broader public health themes.

Since launching in 2022, the How We Age gallery has also been widely used by partner and allied organisations across the island.

The images are used by a diverse range of organisations, working in the field of ageing or directly with older people, to communicate and promote their work and activities.

Pictured: Sea bird…Maclaine Black’s award-winning photo of his octogenarian grandmother Frances after her swim in Portstewart.