Snapper Dessie is a tourist in his own town

But for former Irish league footballer and referee Desmond Loughery, it’s “like water off a ducks back”.

The local snapper opened his ‘Beauty within our Borough’ exhibition in Limavady Library this week, celebrating the Limavady’s natural beauty in its 400th birthday year.

The former Ballymena and Coleraine star is used to testing his sporting skills in full glare of the public eye, but this exhibition gives ‘Dessie’ the chance to showcase a newly found passion. “It was actually through the football that I first fell into photography… about four years ago,” he says.

“I was injured and during a league match was sitting with one of the cameramen. He let me have a look through the lens and I haven’t looked back.” People from the Roe Valley should all learn to be tourists in their own Borough, says Dessie.

“How often do you take a step back and just take a look around? We have the most unbelievable scenery in Limavady and this exhibition is a chance for me to put that on public display. Benone beach, a range of beautiful mountains, Dungiven Castle and The Country Park are just some of the landmarks, no more than a 10 minute drive from us.

“This is an important year for Limavady with the 400th anniversary of the town charter signing and it’s a good chance for us all to show gratitude for what we have here.”

The ‘Beauty within our Borough’ exhibition is backed by the Limavady 400 project.