Today, Thursday, April 30 at The Mansion House, Dublin, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke presented the top awards to the winners of the prestigious Write Here, Write Now competition, run by Hot Press.
On the final day of the One City One Book festival, which this year celebrates one of the great modern Irish sagas – The Barrytown Trilogy by Roddy Doyle – Hot Press, in association with Dublin City Libraries’ One City, One Book Festival, has uncovered the very best new, student writing talent in the country. The competition is supported by Dublin City Libraries, Dublin City Council, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Eason and Microsoft Office 365.
Forty-four young student writers have reached the end of a special literary journey in which they were invited to 'Build Your Own Barrytown’. After much deliberation, the judges decisions have been made and today, the four overall winners of the Write Here, Write Now competition were revealed.
The winners were announced by The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke and at the ceremony, the cream of the crop shone through from right across the country.
Before the awards ceremony, the shortlisted students from all over Ireland were treated to a brilliantly insightful interview, as Hot Press’ Roisin Dwyer quizzed Man Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle on the craft of writing. The Barrytown Trilogy author was a member of the judging panel, which also comprised IMPAC Award winner Kevin Barry, Rooney Prize winner Claire Kilroy, Hot Press editor Niall Stokes and composer Julie Feeney, who was also at The Mansion House to meet those shortlisted. The public had their say too, adding their voices to the mix, with Waterford’s Rose Keating receiving the special Readers’ Award.
The Write Here, Write Now student writing competition saw an instant and enormous reaction from young talent across the country. Thousands of entries were whittled down to a shortlist of 44, across the four categories of the competition. While the number of entries was huge, even more importantly – in both the Second and Third Level categories – the judges were enormously impressed by the superb quality of the submissions.
“Concerns have been expressed that young people are less interested now in the power of the written word. On the contrary, on this evidence, there is a new breed coming through with the ability to write in a way that is genuinely original, smart, powerfully contemporary and emotionally engaging," said Hot Press editor Niall Stokes. "Hot Press has always been about supporting emerging Irish creativity – which is why a competition like Write Here, Write Now is so important to us. However, it is more important than ever for us to ensure that this latent talent is channelled effectively, so hopefully today’s event will provide the encouragement to these remarkable young writers to press on, work hard and develop their potential over the coming years.”
And Roddy Doyle himself also gave his verdict, saying that some of the submissions were "frighteningly good – surprising, sharp, sometimes chilling, confident.”
“It is enormously reassuring to see the depth of young writing talent, which is reflected in the Write Here Write Now competition,” said Dublin City Librarian, Margaret Hayes. “Literature is so important to the life of a nation and indeed, as Roddy Doyle has illustrated so well with The Barrytown Trilogy, to the life of a capital city like Dublin. Dublin City Libraries are at the heart of the drive to ensure that we never forget the value of reading. Not only that: one of our core objectives, through the Dublin UNESCO City of Literature Office, is to encourage writers – which is why we are so proud to have been involved in the success of the Write Here, Write Now competition."
Prizes
The overall winners' prizes include an internship during 2015 with Hot Press, the country's leading music and lifestyle magazine, as well as a €250 cash prize, a Toshiba Click Mini and a Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Mouse. They also receive an e-Reader, courtesy of Eason and will have their winning entry published in a special issue of Hot Press, potentially kick-starting their career in the best possible fashion.
In addition, 22 students received a one-year subscription to Microsoft Office 365, an invaluable tool for students and creative types!
All the winning entries can now be read at [link]www.hotpress.com/writeherewritenow[/link]
And so, we come to the conclusion of a remarkable journey that began when Hot Press and the One City, One Book Festival, set out to find the finest writers the country's student population has to offer. In the end, unfortunately, there could only be four overall winners, one in each category. It is a context in which tough decisions have to be made. And they were. After much agonising and debate, the winners have been decided...
Overall Winners – Third-Level
Dearbhaile Houston from UL: Born in Dublin and raised in Galway, Houston is currently in her final year of New Media and English at UL. When she’s not procrastinating on essays, she can be found writing short stories and presenting a music show on college radio station ULFM.
William Gilsenan from Tullamore: In the midst of Computer Science studies in UCD, Gilsenan says he owes a great deal to his parents for always having books around the house and buying books for him as he got older. A fan of music and film, he loves putting pen to paper, whether it’s writing short stories or essays for college.
Overall Winners – Second-Level
Rose Keating (pictured above with Roddy Doyle and Julie Feeney) from St. Angela's Secondary School, Waterford: Rose is a member of the Waterford Youth Arts creative writing group, Waterford Young Arts Critics, and was the winner of the Sean Dunne Young Writers Local Award 2014. She has had various reviews and pieces published in local newspapers and has also had poems read on a number of radio stations. Keating, who also won the Write Here, Write Now Readers’ Award, hopes to pursue a career in creative writing.
Somhairle O’Braonain from Colaiste Ailigh, Donegal: A 17 year-old who describes his mind as “similar to a kitten on a unicycle”, Somhairle O Braonáin is passionate about many aspects of the arts, an avid participant in Letterkenny Youth Theatre, and a musician to boot. He started writing young; now, he enjoys putting pen to paper with Green Day or Arcade Fire playing in the background. His favourite writers include Derek Landy, Bryan Lee O’Malley and JK Rowling.
Provincial Winners
Third-Level… Munster: Hannah Kingston from Cork (UCC); Connaught: Luke Morgan from Galway (GMIT); Dublin: Kellie Quinn from Finglas (IADT); Rest of Leinster: Caitriona O'Malley from Maynooth (UCD).
Second-Level… Munster: Amy O’Halloran from Carrigaline Community School, Cork; Connaught: Shane McCormick from St. Gerald's College, Mayo. Ulster: Bébhinn Naughton from Abbey Vocational School, Donegal. Dublin: Iseult Deane from St. Louis High School, Rathmines. Rest of Leinster: Lauren Fitzpatrick from Clonaslee College in Laois.

Very Highly Commended
Third-Level... Sarah Craig from Louth. Katalin Horvath from Hungary, based in Dublin. Michelle Madden from Dublin. Stephen Cusack from Mary Immaculate College in Limerick. Laurie Shaw from UCC.
Second-Level... James Kelly from Enniscorthy VCC, Wexord. Alicia Ehrecke from Inver College, Carrickmacross. Emma Tobin from Holy Family Secondary School, Kildare. Caleb O’Connor from St. Peter's College in Wexford. Blythe Stewart from Coláiste Bhaile Chláir, Galway.

Write Here, Write Now is run by Hot Press in association with Dublin City Libraries and the One City One Book Festival. The competition is supported by Eason, Microsoft Office 365 and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, under the Arts in Education heading.