Primary Schools Competitions - Update

(NOTE: A small number of names were left out of the lists posted this evening. See below for amended lists.)

We must apologise again to all our entrants in the Primary School Competitions for the delay in announcing the results. As previously notified to schools, this was due to an unavoidable circumstance which arose this year.

We're so grateful to these young people and their teachers for their loyal interest in the Allingham Festival, year after year. Every single entry was enjoyed by our judges and we congratulate all entrants.

We're delighted to publish these shortlists and we will be in touch with schools in the next couple of days to confirm those placed as 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

A Grace-ful Launch

Jennifer Liston's excellent new book, Grace Notes got the best launch since Grainne Mhaol set out to meet Queen Elizabeth 1. Local writer Win McNulty and Jen decided to structure it as an interview/conversation. Win drew out many key points about the collection with great style and insight.

If you missed it, do catch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvambYhu1Xg

Pictures by Brian O'Droma.

Adult Competitions Shortlist and Winners

Congratulations to the 2024 Winners and Shortlisted Entries as announced at the recent Literary Lunch and listed below.

In response to many requests, you can now read all the winning entries for this year and the last two years on our Competitions page.

POETRY

FIRST PRIZE – Kim - Frank Farrelly

SECOND PRIZE – Little Big Man - Brian Kirk

SHARED THIRD PRIZE – Blood Pear - Heritage Variety – Elaine Desmond

SHARED THIRD PRIZE – Never Mourned - Liam Boyle

SHORTLIST Bless Me Father for I Have Swimmed – Frankie McPhillips Bog Uncles – Gerry O’Donnell Granduncle – Peggy McCarthy Holy – A M Cousins My mother: laughing – Stella Harvey Birrell Tall Boys – Deidre (Deig) Sullivan The Goldfinch – Mary Melvin Geoghogan The Lime Tree – Padraig McLoughlin The More of Less – Deirdre Hines This and That – Eugene O’Hare

FLASH FICTION

FIRST PRIZE – The Questions – Partridge Boswell

SECOND PRIZE - Sunk – Ciaran Cunningham

THIRD PRIZE - Your Heart’s Right There – Jo Nestor

Highly Commended: Big Top – Rachel Smart Jonah – Seamus Harrington Saltwater – Anne Byrne Such Consolations We Find – Jennifer McMahon Terms and Conditions – Jamie D Stacey Unstable – Fiona McKay White Horses – Ruth Mary O’Shea

Adult Competitions Shortlists and Literary Lunch

Shortlists and winning entries for the 2024 Allingham Poetry and Flash Fiction Competitions have been selected by judges Kate Newmann and Nuala O’Connor. Winners have already been informed and they will read their work at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday 9 November. Shortlistees and winners include:

POETRY

Bless Me Father For I Have Swimmed – Frankie McPhillips

Blood Pear - Heritage Variety – Elaine Desmond

Bog Uncles – Gerry O’Donnell

Granduncle – Peggy McCarthy

Holy – A M Cousins

Kim – Frank Farrelly

Little Big Man – Brian Kirk

My mother: laughing – Stella Harvey Birrell

Never Mourned – Liam Boyle

Tall Boys – Deidre (Deig) Sullivan

The Goldfinch – Mary Melvin Geoghogan

The Lime Tree – Padraig McLoughlin

The More of Less – Deirdre Hines

This and That – Eugene O’Hare

FLASH FICTION

Big Top – Rachel Smart

Jonah – Seamus Harrington

Saltwater – Anne Byrne

Such Consolations We Find – Jennifer McMahon

Sunk – Ciaran Cunningham

Terms and Conditions – Jamie D Stacey

The Questions – Partridge Boswell

Unstable – Fiona McKay

White Horses – Ruth Mary O’Shea

Your Heart’s Right There – Jo Nestor

The Awards Ceremony will take place at the Literary Lunch in the Nirvana Restaurant, Ballyshannon on Saturday, 9 Nov. Admission is free; an optional buffet lunch is available at €20 per ticket.

Noon – Ongoing: Buffet Lunch

12:30 – 1:30: Awards Ceremony

1:30 – 2:00 Book Launch: Pool of Darkenss – Raymond Chandler in Ireland by Tom Sigafoos

And the Schools Winners ARe...

Don't forget to join Patricia Keane on our YouTube Channel tomorrow at 2.30 for the announcement of the results of the Post-Primary Schools competitions. They will also appear here shortly afterwards.