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23 Oct 2025
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23 Oct 2025
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A Longford man has been shortlisted for the final of the JP McManus 2022 All Ireland Scholarships Alumni Association Creative Writing Competition on Tuesday, March 1.
James John O’Connor, from Newtownforves, who won the Scholarship in 2019 and has gone on to study at University of Groningen in The Netherlands, submitted a short story to enter the Competition which was open to all 1,500 members of the Association.
The competition began in October, featured a virtual Creative Writing Workshop hosted by the judges in November and closed for entries on 9th January for the shortlisting process which was announced this week.
Entrants could submit up to three stories of 2,000 words or less each in fiction and non-fiction categories based on any theme or subject matter. Non-fiction pieces such as a memoir, autofiction and bio-fiction were also welcome.
The judging panel, chaired by Professor Sarah Moore Fitzgerald of University of Limerick (UL), includes Ireland’s first Prix Jean Monnet winner, Donal Ryan, acclaimed writer Kerri ní Dochartaigh and poet Alice Kinsella, the 2021 competition winner.
Author of six novels and Professor of Teaching and Learning at UL, Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, said: “This competition uncovers and celebrates exceptional creative talent among AIS alumni. I’m delighted to be involved; working with a panel of among Ireland’s leading writers to discover more creative voices and stories.”
Prix Jean Monnet and multi-award-winning author, Donal Ryan, said: “The written word is one of the greatest ways we have of sharing human experience with one another. Whether fact or fiction, creative writing shines a light on something that might otherwise go unnoticed.”
The overall winner and three runners-up will be announced on Tuesday, 1st March 2022.
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