Winner - Hanna Greally Literary Award!

"Congratulations Michael, you are the Overall National Poetry prize winner in the Hanna Greally Literary Award. Your winning poem is: The Trip West."

It's nice to get an email like that. I was delighted. The poem was written about six months ago, was originally twice as long but I cut it down to 59 lines to meet the length specifications for the competition.

The poem is, as the title says, about a trip west with reflections on leaving the west, returning for events such as baptisms and funerals and includes a swipe at Celtic Tiger excess.

I like it and I'm thrilled that adjudicator, Canadian Author/Film Director Eleanor McGrath, chose it as the winner.

This competition is part of the annual  Siarscéal Festival in Roscommon town. This takes place next weekend and the full programme is on the website.

The prize will be presented at the Siarsceal Formal Launch at Roscommon County Library at 10am on Saturday next, 9 March.

There is a Canadian theme to the festival with the keynote address being given by the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency, Loyola Hearn. There is also a Canadian/Irish Collaborative Concert and a screening of  a film, Kanata An Irish Story with Canadian film producer/author Eleanor McGrath, the competition adjudicator.