GIRLS filled the top positions in this year’s Clare Champion Second Level Short Story Competition.

The top three awards in the junior and senior categories were presented to young women at last Thursday’s prize-giving ceremony.
For the first time in the competition’s four-year history, along with receiving cash prizes and having their work published in The Clare Champion, the winners will also have the opportunity to read at the Ennis Book Club Festival, which takes place in March 2011.
Eighteen-year-old Cliona Falvey from Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon scooped the top prize in the senior category for her story I Was One of Them.
“It was something I could write easily about. I thought it would be something everyone our age would be able to get. The story changed a few times as I was writing it but then it just happened, it clicked into place,” she said.
This was Cliona’s first time entering The Clare Champion Short Story Competition.
“It started out as homework that we got when we were off because of the ice. Then when I had it done, the teacher, Mary O’Flaherty, said it was good and to enter it. I probably wouldn’t have entered otherwise,” she recalled.
“Obviously I’m delighted now that I took part and I would definitely encourage other people to enter in the coming years. It gives you great confidence to hear that other people enjoy your work,” she continued.
“It is definitely a nice way to finish off my time in school. The content of the story has a lot to do with things you learn during school. I couldn’t have written this when I was in third year. I needed the six years of school to write this,” Cliona concluded.
This was the first year too that sisters were among those placed in the competition. Laura and Niamh McArdle, pupils at Seamount College in Kinvara came first and third in the junior category of the competition. Orla Hennessy from Rice College took second position in the section.
Nick Stefanovic, a pupil at St Flannan’s College, was highly commended for his entry The Freedom Express. His achievement is particularly remarkable, Nick’s English teacher, Carmel Honan explained.
“Nick has only been in Ireland for the past three years. English is not his first language. His speaks Lithuanian and Russian first. This is my first year teaching him and he is very interested and an avid reader and just soaks it all up. This really is a huge achievement,” she said.
Two pupils from Kilrush Community School, Jane Fitzpatrick and Samuel Kenyon, explored very different eras in their stories and were also highly commended in the junior section for their entries.
In the senior category, Gort Community School’s Emmanuelle Lydon was awarded second place for It Smells Like Sun. Poppy O’Sullivan from Coláiste Muire in Ennis followed in third with Boy or Girl? a futuristic story with a comic slant.
“I was in biology class and we were doing genetics and something to do with changing genes was mentioned and I thought it sounded interesting and I just went from there,” she revealed.
Jamie Tuohy from St Flannan’s College was highly commended for his story The Legacy, while the east of the county was also well represented among the finalists. Emily Murphy from St Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla and Ross McDonnell, a pupil at St Anne’s Community College in Killaloe were both highly commended in the senior category.
Managing director of The Clare Champion, John Galvin said he was “impressed by the high standard of stories from the young writers” and pointed out that because of this, choosing the winners was particularly difficult for the judges.
“I have my own favourites but in terms of choosing between one or another, it is down to a matter of opinion. I understand that it was a very tight call in both categories,” he added.
Mr Galvin acknowledged the work of teachers in promoting the competition in schools and encouraged young people to keep reading. “That is how you improve your writing style,” he said.
Editor of the newspaper, Austin Hobbs, said he is delighted to print the winning and highly-commended short stories.
“These writers have been selected from an initial entry of around 200, which demonstrates that there is no shortage of creativity among our teenagers. The style and subject matter of the stories is quite diverse; some humorous, some dark and others ending with a twist,” he stated.
Competition judge and former Clare county librarian, Noel Crowley commented on the remarkable standard in this year’s competition. He detailed his own favourites before concluding, “to all those who entered, I commend your bravery and you dedication”.
The other judges were authors Eddie Lenihan and Niall Williams.