I consider myself to be something of a late bloomer in the literary sense, although I have been a writer since I was old enough to hold a pen. I had a long and varied career as a commercial wordsmith after first training as a newspaper journalist, but I have only recently accomplished any sort of success with my stories and poems.

Here are some of my most recent writing achievements:

• February 2016: Winner of HE Bates Short Story Competition for ‘Fives Staves and an Instant’
• January 2016: Short story ‘The Three Week Rebellion’ chosen for publication in ROPES 2016
• November 2015: Overall winner of Hanna Greally Literary Award for short story ‘The Three Week Rebellion’.
• November 2015: Published in 12th annual Momaya Short Story Review with Honorable Mention for ‘All Donations Welcome’
• October 2015: Short story ‘A Week Without Mary’ published in the Mayo Advertiser
• October 2015: Published in Writers Abroad Anthology ‘Kaleidoscope’ – 500 word flash fiction ‘Mamma Mia’
• October 2015: Shortlisted in Writing.ie/Crosspens Short Story Competition for 1,000 word story ‘The To Do’
• September 2015: Article in Roscommon Herald’s ‘The Write Note’ column – ‘Crossing the Language Barrier’
• August 2015: Long listed in Dermot Healy Poetry Competition for poem ‘The Triumphs of Peter’s Peapod Plonk’
• May 2015: Published in ‘What Land and Country Is This?’ booklet published by Roscommon County Council on behalf of Ballaghaderreen Writers’ Group and Community Art Group Ballaghaderreen. Poems: ‘Time Changes Everything’ and ‘In the Name of the Future, a Prayer for Tomorrow’s World, Amen’, and an article: ‘It’s Right Here’. I compiled and edited the entire 24 page, A5 publication
• May 2015: Three poems displayed at the Dock, Carrick on Shannon, for Poetry Day Ireland: ‘Old Flame’, ‘Blackout’ and ‘Farm Boy, 52’
• May 2015: Poem published in the Roscommon Herald to mark Poetry Day Ireland: ‘Learning to Punctuate’
• May 2015: shortlisted (twice) for Strokestown Poetry Festival’s Roscommon Poetry Prize, placed third for ‘Yellow Brick Road’ and highly commended for ‘Softly Softly’
• April 2015: Shortlisted in The People’s College/Roberts’ Short Story Competition for ‘The Prodigal Robin’
• February 2015: Published in Roscommon Herald’s column ‘The Write Note’ – article ‘A Room of One’s Own’
• February 2015: shortlisted for a Hennessy Literary Award for short story ‘Flying Lessons’ published in the Irish Independent on March 30^th 2014
• November 2014 : runner up (twice) New Roscommon Writing Award for poems ‘Farm Boy, 52’ and ‘Bedtime Story’, subsequently published in Roscommon County Council booklet
• July 2013: runner-up Boyle Arts Festival Poetry Competition for pantoum ‘Blackout’
• April 2013: long listed Fish Flash Fiction Competition for ‘Hirsute Economics’
• April 2012: monthly winner and overall runner-up A. Vogel Bedtime Story Competition with ‘Baking Day’

• Ongoing:
• Monthly performance poetry at the Word Corner Café at The Dock Arts Centre in Carrick on Shannon.
• Performance poetry with The Hermit Collective, a group of artists, writers and musicians who stage pop-up shows in the mid-west.