I’ve entered the Mairtín Crawford Award several times, and it’s encouraging to see that persistence pays off! I’m delighted to have won and extremely grateful to the judges. This is a generous and well-considered award, in focusing on a group of poems rather than just one, it offers real support for a writer’s developing voice. At this stage, between emerging and working towards a first collection, that kind of recognition is invaluable. Mairtín Crawford’s commitment to making space for every voice resonates with my own belief that poetry is for everyone and I’m honoured to be part of his legacy..

Siobhán Flynn is from Dublin. She was selected for the Freedom to Write Project (2024), a John Hewitt Summer School Bursary (2023), Poetry Ireland Introductions (2023), and won the Cúirt New Writing Prize for Poetry (2022). Her work was highly commended in the Patrick Kavanagh Award (2018 and 2023), and in the Munster Literature Festival Fool For Poetry Chapbook Competition (2023). Her poetry has also been placed and shortlisted in several other competitions, most recently winning second place in the Oliver Goldsmith Festival Poetry Competition (2025). Her work has appeared in literary journals both in print and online, including The Irish Times, Dreich, The Poetry Bus, The Storms, Amsterdam Quarterly, Skylight 47 and The Stony Thursday Book. She is currently working on her first collection.

 

We are also delighted to reveal the runner-ups and Shortlist of the Poetry Award are as follows:

1st Runner Up: Kristen Mears 

2nd Runner Up: Sinead McClure

 

Shortlist (in alphabetical order): Helen McSherry, Kate Morgan and Niamh Twomey.

Many congratulations to all the nominees!