POETRY ALOUD 2012
There was a great sense of anticipation in the seminar room on the afternoon of Friday 7 December, as we awaited the results of Poetry Aloud 2012. Having listened to the 33 participants speak their two poems, everyone knew that the standard was extremely high and that the judges were going to have to spend some time deliberating over the results.
Congratulations to the winners:
Junior Category: Emily Guiney, Notre Dame Secondary School, Dundrum, Dublin 14.
Intermediate Category: Cian Siggins, Coláiste Éinde, Salthill, Galway.
Senior Category: Shauna Hession, St Michael's Holy Faith Secondary School, Finglas, Dublin 11.
OVERALL Winner: Shauna Hession
Congratulations to the Runners-Up:
Junior Category: Danny O Treasaigh, Coláiste Oiriall, Monaghan.
Intermediate Category: Orla Nolan, Ursuline College, Sligo.
Senior Category: Emmanuella Pomah, St Michael's Secondary School, Finglas, Dublin 11.
Shauna Hession was presented with The Seamus Heaney Poetry Aloud Award by Mark O'Halloran, who was one of the judges.
All the winners were presented with prizes and the runners-up received book tokens.
Book tokens were also presented to the teachers from the winning schools.
Well done to all who took part in the final and to the teachers and parents for the work that went in to preparing the students.
Overall winner Shauna Hession with her teacher Noel Bannon and Director of the NLI, Fiona RossWhat is Poetry Aloud?
Poetry Aloud is the annual poetry speaking competition organised by the National Library and Poetry Ireland. It is open to all post-primary school students on the island of Ireland.
Poetry Aloud wins major award!
The Poetry Aloud competition, run by the Library in conjunction with Poetry Ireland, has been honoured at a gala ceremony at the British Library in London at which poet Seamus Heaney was presented with the David Cohen Prize for Literature 2009 for a lifetime's achievement in literature.
In addition to winning the £40,000 award, the winner of the David Cohen Prize for Literature nominates the recipient of a subsidiary prize, the Clarissa Luard Award, worth £12,500. In nominating Poetry Aloud for the award, Seamus Heaney cited the extraordinary way in which the competition seeks to celebrate the joy of speaking and listening to poetry as well as the fact that there is a strong North/South dimension to the competition.