THE MICHAEL WARD PRIZE


Well…. The panel of judges have finally finished their difficult deliberations over the Michael Ward Prize for creative writing. We were pleased to receive a number of entries and are now delighted to announce the results as follows:



Joint first place: “ Hatchlings “ by Emma Smith of Hollywood
“ Breathings of a Broken Heart” by Robert Dunlop of
Brannockstown


Runner-up: “ Don’t blame the donkey” by Julia Reynolds of Naas



The judges (Michael, Rose and Angie), would like to thank all the entrants who were courageous enough to submit their work – creative writing is a very personal thing and we know there are lots of budding writers out there who may be encouraged by this and perhaps enter the competition next year. Our writers listed above should be an inspiration to them!

The stories all shared a theme of rural life, but were quite different. Julia’s
story told the tale of two elderly brothers and their trip into town on market day. The story had a light touch and lots of humour. Robert’s offering depicted the thoughts and feelings of a priest’s housekeeper, and her reaction on the priest’s death. It is beautifully written and touches on an unusual, almost hidden subject. Emma’s short story also depicts a woman living on her own, beset by the kind of fears and isolation a lot of older people could experience these days. Again, she has a lovely style and a deceptively simple way of describing her main character. There was quite a bit of debate about who the winner should be, as both stories are excellent in different ways, so in the end we agreed the fairest thing would be a tie for first place. We will shortly be meeting the winning entrants to award the shared prize money of 500 euro.

We think you will enjoy all these stories and we will be printing them in the next few editions of the Bugle….so look out for them. And remember, if you or any of your friends or family are budding writers, don’t hide your talent away and think seriously about entering the competition the next time around! Thanks again Julia, Michael and Emma and ………..CONGRATULATIONS!



ANGIE THOMPSON