News

"Dingle Boy" Wins GAIF Photo Contest

August 25, 2011

The winning photograph for the 2011 Great American Irish Festival was "Dingle Boy," submitted by Paul Stern of Utica. Paul, who won $100 for his winning entry, had a profitable weekend at GAIF this year, also taking third place with his photo, "The Quick and the Dead," netting him another $25. Sandwiched between Paul's entries was the second-place winner of $50, Utican Thomas Dineen's "Liffey River from Halfpenny Bridge." This year's contest was especially close, with only six votes separating the top two photos out of almost 1,500 votes that were cast.
Do you have a photograph of an Irish or Irish-American location, activity or event? It's never too early to start thinking of next year's contest. While pictures must show an Irish or Irish-American event, activity or location, GAIF Cultural Building chair Deni Finch-Frederick suggests that entrants may want to look a little closer to home for their subject matter.
"We really want to encourage photographers to think American-Irish, especially shots of things that are Mohawk Valley centered, seisuns, ceilis, old buildings and graveyards, for example," said Deni. "After all, not everyone can make it to Ireland, so we have to look for the Irish around us."
Photographs may be submitted to the Great American Irish Festival Photo Contest, c/o Deni Finch-Frederick, 307 N. Bellinger St., Herkimer, NY 13350, no later than Saturday, July 21, 2012. Each photo must be at least 8 inches by 10 inches and no larger than 11 inches by 14 inches and must be mounted or matted but not framed. Each entry photographers may submit up to three photos must include a person or people as the subject or a component of the photograph.

Click here for 2012 rules and entry forms