Mayo student a finalist in poetry competition

LUCY Murphy from St. Mary's Secondary School, Ballina, has been recognised as finalist in this year’s Poetry Aloud competition.

The competition challenges second-level students across the island of Ireland to recite a prescribed poem from memory.

Organised by the National Library of Ireland (NLI) and Poetry Ireland, in partnership with University College Cork, this year’s competition drew 358 entries from schools across the island, with 29 finalists.

The competition has been putting poetry to the forefront of students’ minds since 2007. It has three categories: junior, intermediate and senior. The prescribed poems for this year were Forecast by Geraldine Mitchell (junior category), Counting the Winter Days by Nithy Kasa (intermediate category), and Nocturne by Eavan Boland (senior category).

The late poet Seamus Heaney was a supporter of the Poetry Aloud competition, citing the extraordinary way in which it seeks to celebrate the joy of speaking and listening to poetry, as well valuing the North-South dimension to the all-island event.

Dr. Audrey Whitty, director of the National Library of Ireland, commented: “Poetry Aloud is a powerful celebration of spoken word, which brings young people from across the island of Ireland together to breathe fresh life into the work of Ireland’s greatest poets. The competition highlights the enduring power of poetry to move, inspire and unite.”