The Write Touch Competition: The Winners

Enright presented the top awards to the winners of The Write Touch competition – presented by Hot Press in association with Alcatel OneTouch - earlier today.

After much deliberation, the judges' decisions have been made and today, the four overall winners of The Write Touch competition were revealed. Each gains the opportunity to experience an internship at the country's leading music and lifestyle magazine during 2014, along with plenty of other prizes.

The Hot Press team of Editor Niall Stokes, deputy editor Stuart Clark and writer Craig Fitzpatrick were joined on the judging panel by Booker Prize-winning author Anne Enright and Royseven lead vocalist and TV presenter, Paul Walsh. The public had their say too, adding their votes to the mix.

A month ago, thousands of entries were whittled down to a shortlist of 40, across the four categories of the competition. The Write Touch student writing competition saw an instant and enormous reaction from young talent across the country. Not only were the Hot Press offices swamped with entries in each section of the Leaving Certificate and Third Level categories – but the judges were enormously impressed by the quality of the submissions.

"On the evidence of the entries we received, Ireland is teeming with young people with opinions to express and the ability to articulate them really well in written form", said Hot Press editor Niall Stokes. "In the current difficult economic climate, it is more important than ever for us to ensure that this latent talent is channeled effectively. Hot Press has always been about supporting emerging Irish creativity – which is why a competition like The Write Touch is so important to us."

The winners' prizes include an internship with Hot Press during the spring or summer of 2014. Also up for grabs were a €250 cash prize in each category, and an Alcatel OneTouch Idol Ultra – with 10 additional runners-up receiving Alcatel OneTouch Idol Ultra handsets, which come loaded with an 8 Megapixel camera, large, intuitive touch screen and a host of essential apps – potentially kick-starting their career in the best possible fashion.

It’s fantastic to see such strength and depth in creative writing from schools and colleges right across Ireland and it's a testament to the talent among young people in Ireland today. At Alcatel Ireland, we’re delighted to provide this platform along with Hot Press for young writers”, said Seamus Cosgrove, Country Manager, Alcatel Ireland.

And so we come to the conclusion of a remarkable journey that began when Hot Press, in association with Alcatel OneTouch, set out to find the finest writers the country's student population have to offer. In the end, unfortunately, there could only be four winners, one in each category. It is a context in which tough decisions have to be made. And they were. After much agonizing and debate, the winners have been decided...

Third-Level Winners
Siobhan Casey from Galway, attending DCU. A 20-year-old communications student specialising in audio production, Siobhan Casey explains in 'Hard At Twerk' why she thinks that Miley Cyrus has declined artistically.

Robert Dalton from Dublin, attending NUI Galway. Citing Christopher Hitchens, Socrates, Oscar Wilde and Ian Curtis as key influences, Dalton has already begun work on his first novel, while his 'Paint A Pretty Picture' entry is a meditation on art and music.

Second-Level Winners
Maija Makela from Galway. Attending Presentation College Headford. 18-year-old Makela writes songs and plays harp, guitar and violin. Her favourite bands are CocoRosie and The Smiths, while her favourite writers are Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath.

Fionn Harrington from Clare, attending St. Joseph's Secondary. Currently recording an album, 16-year-old Fionn Harrington's piece 'The Sound Of Music' imagines a world without music.

Third-Level Runners-up
Connacht: David Molloy, Galway, (NUI Galway); Dublin: Molly Dillon Leech, Dublin (UCD); Leinster: Eva Griffin, Kildare (UCD); Munster: Dean Buckley, Tipperary, (NUI Galway); Ulster: Michael Shiels McNamee, Dublin (DCU).

Second-Level Runners-up
Connacht: Shane McCormick, Mayo (St. Gerald's College); Dublin: Seán Butler, Dublin (St. MacDara's Community College), Rest of Leinster: Michael Heavey, Meath (St. Peter's College), Munster: Clare Fehin, Cork (Hazelwood College); Ulster: Jessica Beaton, Cavan (St. Clare's College).

Highly Commended – Third-Level:
Aisling Cullen, Dublin (UCD), Sarah Harold, Kildare (NCAD), Fionnuala Jones, Cork (DCU), Claire McQuaid, Dublin (DIT), Emma Ní Chearúil, Kildare (NUI Maynooth), Aideen O’Flaherty, Dublin (DCU), Caitríona O’Malley, Kildare (UCD), Tiernan Cannon, Mayo (DCU), Stephen Larkin, Dublin (UCD), Adrian Lyons, Galway (NUI Galway), Conor McMahon, Kildare (DIT), Jack O’Higgins, Wicklow (DIT), Darren Ryding, Kildare (NUI Maynooth).

Highly Commended – Seond-Level:
Louisa Barry, Waterford (St. Angela's Ursuline Secondary School), Megan Dollery, Cork (St. Aloysius Secondary School), Rachel Fitzgerald, Kildare (Holy Family Secondary School), Kerry Graham, Donegal (Rosses Community School), Megan Martin, Donegal (Loreto Community School Milford), Bébhinn Naughton, Donegal (Abbey Vocational School), Aoibhinn O’Sullivan, Laois (Heywood Community School) Daniel Angland, Cork (Boherbue Comprehensive School), Fergus McCarthy, Kerry (Mercy Secondary School Mounthawk), Barry Neenan, Carlow (St. Mary's Academy CBS), Luke O’Neill, Dublin (Gormanston College) Jack O’Toole, Dublin (Lucan Community College), Nick Stanley, Dublin (Tallaght Community School).

The Write Touch is presented by Hot Press in association with Alcatel OneTouch.