Wiki loves Cavan Burren Park

Ollie Gargan's one and only trip to the breath taking Cavan Burren Park proved a fruitful one as his photograph of an explosion of wildflowers was selected as one of 10 Irish highly commended images in the 'Wiki Loves Earth' competition.

Organised worldwide by the Wikipedia community members, it calls on participants to take photos of protected areas of natural beauty, such as National Parks, Nature Reserves, and Special Areas of Conservation. The competition has run since 2013, but this is the first time Ireland has had a category. Nevertheless it attracted over 5,000 entries from Irish photographers.

The Bailieborough man's image was taken last August in the west Cavan beauty spot.

“It was the first and only time I've gone to Cavan Burren but I've been meaning to go back. It's just out of this world," he enthused. “For me that's into photography, there's something around every corner.”

So captivated was Ollie by the scenery he laughingly admits that a trek that should have taken about an hour and a half, took closer four hours as he snapped “hundreds” of photos.

“I was walking away over fields, over ditches," he recalls. "It's stunning you wouldn't actually think you are in Cavan to be honest.”

He suspects that the judges liked the natural feel of the “calming” image.

“The wildflowers are a nice foreground to bring your eye into the photo,” he says. “It's a very natural looking and nice and colourful.

“There's nothing Photoshopped, and nothing added to it.”

A gifted photographer, Ollie's no stranger to accolades for his images – last year he won first place in Wiki Loves Monuments, with his picture of the Tower of Lloyd at Drumbarragh outside Kells, going on to represent Ireland against the best from around the world.