Offaly writer wins 2023 All-Ireland Scholarships Creative Competition

EMMA Corcoran from Ferbane, Co. Offaly has been selected as the overall winner of the All-Ireland Scholarships Creative Writing Competition 2023 and Tullamore native Shane Brennan has been selected as a finalist in the competition. They were presented with their awards at a special ceremony in Adare Manor last week.

The competition, now in its third year, is open to all members of the All-Ireland Scholarships Alumni Association. The categories included fiction, non-fiction and op-ed, with a maximum word count of 2,000 words.

This year’s judging panel comprised a stellar quartet of award-winning authors: Ireland’s first Prix Jean Monnet winner for European Literature, Donal Ryan, acclaimed writers Joseph O’Connor & Eoin Devereux, and 2022’s winning entrant, Romana Semler. The judging process was chaired by Professor Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, head of Creative Writing at UL and author of seven children's and young adult novels.

Emma received her All-Ireland Scholarship in 2011 and went on to complete a bachelor’s degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics in TUD (formerly DIT) and Trinity College, and graduated in 2015. She currently works in the Mater Hospital as a Senior Dietitian, specialising in Inherited Metabolic Disorders.

Shane received his scholarship in 2014 and studied Primary Education in the Froebel Department of Maynooth University. He is now in his fifth year of teaching in St Anne's National School in Ardclough, Co. Kildare.

Discussing her writing inspirations, Emma said: “It’s difficult to narrow it down to just one source. I enjoy reading, and am particularly inspired by the many talented contemporary Irish authors of today. I also gain inspiration from everyday life – my own experiences and what I’ve learned from others.”

Shane’s writing inspiration comes from his late mother Lelia Brady, whom he says “kindled and nurtured a love of reading” in him from infancy. His brother Ciaran is also a source of inspiration, as he encouraged him to write about his own life experiences “no matter how mundane they may seem.”

The judging panel were impressed by Emma’s fiction piece ‘A Little Bird’, and Shane’s fiction piece ‘Blunders Of A Rambling Commuter’ which both can be read at: https://www.allirelandscholarships.com/2023-shortlist/

Commenting on Emma’s winning piece, the judges described it as “a compassionate, yet honest, exploration on what we do with the information we observe, and how much of ourselves we give away. The writer lens zooms in and out of the location and subjects of the story with dizzying effect, and finally closes with crystalline images.”

The judges described Shane’s piece as having “a real sense of movement and energy with dazzling flashes of lyrical brilliance.”

Initiated in 2020, the AIS Creative Writing Competition has already uncovered notable creative talent among AIS Alumni. One such example is inaugural winner and recently published author Alice Kinsella, whose book ‘Milk: On Motherhood and Madness’ is now on the shelves in bookstores.

Sponsored by JP McManus, the All-Ireland Scholarship is a 3rd level educational scholarship and is awarded to 125 of the highest-achieving students each year from the 32 counties.