A Wexford native has excelled in a national creative writing competition…
Kim Griffiths from Gorey, Co. Wexford has been awarded third place in the 2025 All Ireland Scholarships Creative Writing Competition in the Prose Category for her piece, Our New To Us House. She was presented with her award by competition judge and renowned author Donal Ryan at a special awards ceremony in Adare Manor on Tuesday 29th of April.
Sponsored by JP McManus, the competition, now in its fifth year, is open to all members of the All-Ireland Scholarships Alumni Association. This year’s competition focused on the short form written word (max 1000 words) with fiction, non-fiction, op-ed and poetry categories. A poetry category was added to the competition for the first time this year.
This year’s stellar judging panel included Donal Ryan, Professor Eoin Devereux, Dr Emily Cullen and winner of the 2024 competition, Surnaí Molloy. The judging process was chaired by Professor Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, Head of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.
Kim received the All Ireland Scholarship in 2008 and went on to pursue a BA Hons in English Literature and Classical Civilisation at Trinity College, Dublin. She then completed an M Phil in Children’s Literature, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education, also at Trinity College Dublin. Kim now works as a post-primary teacher in Gorey Community School, where she teaches English and Classical Studies.
Speaking on the competition, Kim told Wexford Weekly:
“‘I have always loved writing, and I have been writing since I can remember. I think language and stories have an incredible ability to create connections between people.
‘I entered this competition because I wanted more people to read about my (very ordinary) lived experience. My piece is about being a parent, and the extraordinary importance of children, and I thought that was a message that people might relate to and connect with.”
The judges described Kim’s piece as, ‘A charming, heartfelt writing style, capturing so much about the frightening love parents feel for their children.’
Kim’s piece, Our New To Us House can be read here.
Jason Redmond
From Gorey, Jason is the owner of Wexford Weekly. He is also a post-primary English and History teacher.
Read also:
Remember to submit your news to Wexford Weekly! To advertise on our socials or website, email our team at info@wexfordweekly.com