2024 marked the 15th edition of Wiki Loves Monuments the international photo contest that aims to celebrate and document built heritage from all over the world. Ireland was one of 53 countries participating with a whopping 1,270 entries this year!
The competition brings together people who value their local historic environment, calling on amateur and professional photographers alike to capture images of the world’s historic monuments. The photos are then shared under a free licence via Wikimedia Commons, a free media repository which along with other things provides most of the images for Wikipedia.
This year we held a special edition of the Wiki Loves Monuments Photo Contest to celebrate hosting the Celtic Knot Minority Languages Conference in Waterford. Overall we awarded 950 euros worth of prizes! So it is well worth entering the competition.
The top ten images will move forward to the international level of the contest. Check out all of the international winners here.
Enter the Wiki Science Writing Contest until December 15th 2024.
Wiki Loves Monuments 2024 Special Categories
Along with the main contest winners we also awarded special prizes for newcomers from each province who were participating in the contest for the first time and also for monuments in Waterford city.
This year’s winners depict a wide variety of monuments from different time periods tracing Ireland’s historical past and often placing it in the present. In the winning photos, you can see how the monuments have changed over time, with towns built around them or being engulfed by nature. The winners strike a careful balance between achieving a clear and useful photo that will bring quality content to the digital encyclopedia and also demonstrating artistic flair Without further a due here are the fabulous winners of Wiki Loves Monuments 2024….
Wiki Loves Monuments Winners 2024
1st place
2nd Place
3rd Place
4th Place
Graiguenamanagh or Graignamanagh (Irish: Gráig na Manach, meaning ‘valley (or village) of the monks’) is a town on the River Barrow in County Kilkenny with a famous seven-arched limestone bridge spanning the River.
5th Place
The Elphin Windmill is a rare piece of Irish heritage. Built in the 18th century the windmill is over 300 years old and possibly the oldest windmill in Ireland. It was originally used for grinding corn and other grains but now houses a visitor centre.
6th Place
7th Place
Durrow Railway Viaduct, Comeragh by Jason.nlw, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Durrow Railway Viaduct spans the River Boyne and is dated to 1855. It is built of limestone & iron bridge and designed by Sir John Mac Neill. This integral piece of Irish Hertiage still does not have a Wikipedia article. If you are up to the challenge you can find a useful source to start drafting a Wiki page here.
8th Place
Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts as seen here.
9th Place
Ross Castle (Irish: Caisleán an Rois) is a 15th-century tower house and keep on the edge of Lough Leane, in Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Ireland. Read about its facinating history here.
10th Place
New Joiner Special Prizes
Leinster
Munster
Ulster
Connaught
Celtic Knot Special Prizes for Monuments in Waterford
1st Prize
2nd Prize
3rd Prize
Thank you to everyone who entered Wiki Loves Monuments 2024 and for their contributions to open knowledge! Every image counts and tells its own important local story. Thank you very much to our wonderful judges as well, a special mention goes out to Gary Dempsey from Digital Heritage Age. If you are interested in built heritage it is definitely worth checking out his fantastic work and projects or you can listen to the podcast we recorded with him for Heritage Week here.
Keep an eye out for more contests which are announced on our social media platforms or subscribe to our newsletter here.
