Westmeath poet among winners of Trócaire-Poetry Ireland Competition

A Westmeath poet received a prestigious accolade at the 2022 Trócaire-Poetry Ireland poetry competition.

Rory Duffy from Athlone was named as the runner-up in the Adult Unpublished Category with his poem ‘Half Life.’ In 2019 he won the Red Line Book Festival Poetry Prize and was second in the Strokestown Summer Poetry Award. In 2020 he was a nominee for his poetry in the Forward Prize. In 2021 he was selected for the Words Ireland National Mentoring Scheme.

The Trócaire and Poetry Ireland annual competition, which this year had the theme ‘A Better Tomorrow’, uses the arts to raise awareness about global justice, ecological and equality issues.

Jane O’Hanlon from Poetry Ireland said, “I would like to express sincere thanks to everyone who supported the Trócaire Poetry Ireland Poetry Competition this year. The winning poems speak eloquently to urgent contemporary issues and yet manage to express hope in and for a better tomorrow."

Trócaire’s Campaigns and Volunteer Manager, Joanne McGarry, said: “With entries from over 29 counties across the island of Ireland this year, and from as far afield as Canada, Australia, Nigeria and the U.S., we’d like to thank everyone who entered, the standard was superb. These wonderful poems highlight social justice and in turn increase awareness and understanding of the world we live in.

Poetry Ireland and Trócaire look forward to celebrating the winners of the competition with an in-person event on Culture Night, Friday, September 23 at Dublin City University.