Photography lovers in Kilkenny were celebrating this week as local man Seamus Costelloe won a gold medal at the Irish Photographic Federation’s National Photography Competition in the category of Land/Sea and Urban Scapes.
This event was held on Saturday 11th April in the Westgrove Hotel, Clane Co. Kildare. And if that wasn’t enough to celebrate, Seamus also won a silver medal in the individual awards representing Ireland in the FIAP Black & White Biennial, hosted by Brazil in April 2026.
Seamus was part of the Irish Photographic Federation’s National team to win Gold and receive the FIAP World Cup. Ireland received a second trophy based on our overall performance across the 30th Colour Biennial in 2023 and our 2026 winning performance.
This is a tremendous achievement for Ireland. Speaking with The Kilkenny Observer Seamus explained that the awards were a unique and cherished moment in his photographic career.
Seamus has represented Ireland on seven occasions in the past and was part of the Irish Team to achieve silver medal in South Korea in the FIAP World Cup 2016.
Seamus is a founder member of the Kilkenny Photographic Society, and in February 2026 he was guest speaker at the Malta Photographic Society, Valetta, Malta.
This was Seamus’s 5th visit to Malta in a Photographic capacity. Mr Costlelloe is retired from full time photography, but has never been as busy conducting personal projects and is a member of the IPF Distinctions panel of accessors.
