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RTÉ and Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland are delighted to unveil three new Storyland dramas which will air on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from Thursday October 19th.

The three Storyland dramas are Wrapped, The Cousin and Falling for the Life of Alex Whelan. 

Since its inception over a decade ago, Storyland has acted as a launch pad and support for Irish writing, directing, producing, and acting talent throughout Ireland to develop and further their careers. This is part of RTÉ’s ongoing strategy to increase its development in drama output, by investing in the Irish creative industry and showcasing the best of Ireland by filming right across the country. This strategy also supports the employment of hundreds of people across the industry, in order to bring more Irish drama series to television, and importantly to RTÉ Player where scripted series dominate viewing.

Wrapped is an exciting 25 minute drama starring Ella Lily Hyland (Fifteen Love) and Lauryn Canny (Normal People, Dating Amber). With cocaine worth thousands of euro strapped to their bodies, Lisa and Ali are intent on getting through airport security undetected. First time drug smugglers; they’ve no choice but to trust each other.

Thursday October 19th 10:30pm RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
WATCH the promo here.

In The Cousin, Dan (Adam Lennon-Collery), a young artist, submits to a prestigious art college with his project The Saints of Fairfield, an installation using projection mapping and archival photography. In the park close by where he lives, Dan projects portraits of people who lived in his neighbourhood over the years but have passed on due to old age, crime, overdose, suicide or emigration. When his application is successful an opportunity arises for him to escape a predetermined life path. But first he needs to sit down and get his cousin’s blessing, which might be easier said than done.

In Falling for the Life of Alex Whelan the story follows a young Chinese girl who meets the guy of her dreams at a film club in Dublin, only to find out the next day that he has died under mysterious circumstances. She sets out on a mission to discover the truth, unable to shake the feeling that something special is now forever lost. Falling For The Life Of Alex Whelan is based on the short story by award-winning author Yan Ge and stars Lila Coleman (Normal People), Chris Walley (The Young Offenders), David Rawle (Moone Boy) and Screen Daily 2023 Rising Star, Patrick Martins.

Further details on the storylines, cast and crew are available in the Editor’s Notes below.

David Crean, Acting Head of Drama, RTÉ said; “We are delighted to be able to launch three new single Storyland dramas for our audiences on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. These dramas were developed in partnership with Screen Ireland/ Fís Éireann as part of our ongoing commitment to be a springboard for new writers, producers and directors in the Irish TV drama sector. Storyland is an essential ramp for talent to showcase their work locally and globally and we are proud to present three new dramas we believe the audience will love.”

Andrew Byrne, Head of Television at Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, said: “Screen Ireland is delighted to support this year’s Storyland in partnership with RTÉ: a scheme that continues to put new and emerging voices in front of Irish audiences. Our huge congratulations go to the creative teams behind the three final dramas, who have undergone a highly competitive development and production process. The result is a selection of fresh, funny and original TV drama for Irish audiences to connect with, and we hope this marks a new wave of talent and storytelling to come.”

Following on from RTÉ’s recent homegrown dramas including Kin, Hidden Assets, Smother, Obituary and The Dry, which all have local storytelling at their core, the chosen three short dramas in Storyland feature stories that will resonate with Irish audiences and give a platform to an impressive standard of diverse and exceptional talent.

Wexford Festival Opera and RTÉ once again join forces

to bring a taste of the magic of Wexford Festival Opera

to audiences at home and abroad

WATCH our promo.

The 72nd Wexford Festival Opera will burst out onto the stage on 24th October and RTÉ is again delighted to once again join the Festival to bring a taste of its magic to audiences at home and abroad.

RTÉ will broadcast and stream all three operas and, with the support of ARTE and European Broadcasting Union, ensure an even wider reach to millions more around the world.

Audiences in Ireland can tune into Opera Night with Paul Herriott on RTÉ lyric fm or log onto www.rte.ie/culture to experience the three mainstage operas this year – Zoraida di Granata by Gaetano Donizetti, L’Aube Rouge by Camille Erlanger, and La Ciociara, in a new orchestration by composer Marco Tutino.

What: Zoraida di Granata by Donizetti

When: Tuesday October 24th, 8pm

Where: RTÉ lyric fm and www.rte.ie/culture

Wexford Festival Opera opens on Tuesday 24th October with this thrilling production, sponsored by Elavon. Tune in to RTÉ lyric fm or watch the live stream on www.rte.ie/culture.

What: La Ciociara by Marco Tutino

When: Saturday October 28th, 8pm

Where: RTÉ lyric fm and www.rte.ie/culture Tune in to Opera Night with Paul Herriott, or watch on www.rte.ie/culture.

This production is sponsored by Danone, and La Ciociara will also be available on ARTE platforms from 20th November.

What: L’Aube Rouge by Camille Erlanger

When: Saturday November 4th, 7pm

Where: RTÉ lyric fm and pre-recorded to enjoy on www.rte.ie/culture.

Audiences can enjoy the French rarity L’Aube Rouge by Camille Erlanger on RTÉ lyric fm or watch on www.rte.ie/culture.

There are still some tickets remaining to experience WFO 2023 live in person, see wexfordopera.com to book tickets and for more information.

About Wexford Festival Opera 2023, running from 24th October – 5th November.

WFO 2023 promises a packed programme comprising of three mainstage opera rarities, two pocket operas, the Wexford Factory opera, 11 lunchtime recitals, an immersive community opera – a first for WFO, a choral recital with New Dublin Voices, the annual gala concert of festival favourites, film screenings, an impossible interview, the Dr Tom Walsh lecture given by Lara Marlowe, From Innocent Victims to Daring Warriors; Real-life Stories of Women in

War, a myriad of joyous free pop-up events all around the town and an exuberant opening night.

The programme for the 72nd festival centres around the theme of Women and War, with each chosen work highlighting a different aspect of the struggles women face; in conflict, fighting prejudice and in making their voices heard.

Wexfordopera.com

THE BLACK & IRISH GALA AWARDS ARE BACK AND POWERED BY RTÉ 

NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN 

VISIT Black & Irish – (blackandirish.com)

The Black & Irish Gala Awards (BIG Awards) are back for the third year and will be even bigger and better with a new media partnership with RTÉ, Ireland’s national public service media.

The Black & Irish Gala Awards powered by RTÉ will take place on Saturday 2nd December in the Osprey Hotel Naas, Co. Kildare when awards will be presented in 15 categories.

Nominations are now open for all 15 awards, and we are inviting you to nominate your preferred person or organisation for each category.

All categories will then be shortlisted with six awards being decided by public vote and nine being decided by panels.

For details on the awards, criteria, judging panels and voting, see Black & Irish – (blackandirish.com)

STAGE 1: CHOOSE YOUR NOMINEES (UNTIL 03.11.23) 

Initial voting for nominees is open until Friday 3rd November in all categories below. You can nominate yourself or someone (person or organisation) you admire in each of the categories. Please make sure they meet the criteria detailed in the nominations form.

– Personality of the Year
– Community Star of the Year
– Community Organisation of the Year
– Actor of the Year
– Educator of the Year
– Outstanding Contribution to Music
– Podcast of the Year
– Activist of the Year
– Content Creator of the Year
– Entrepreneur of the Year
– Female Sportsperson of the Year
– Male Sportsperson of the Year
– Business of the Year
– Female Artist of the Year
– Male Artist of the Year

MAKE YOUR NOMINATION HERE.

STAGE 2: SHORTLIST AND SELECTION (UNTIL 20.11.23) 

The shortlisting of nominees and selection of winners in each category will open on Monday 6th of November. You will have until Monday 20th November to vote for your winner in the six public categories. The nominee with the most votes will win the award and the 2nd and 3rd most votes will make up the shortlist. Panels will select 9 of the shortlists and winners for other categories.

You can see the breakdown of public vote and panel selection below or on  www.blackandirish.com.

Here is a breakdown of the awards and how they are selected:

– Personality of the Year (Public)
– Community Star of the Year (Public)
– Community Organisation of the Year (Public)
– Actor of the Year (Public)
– Educator of the Year (Public)
– Outstanding Contribution to Music (Public)
– Podcast of the Year (Panel)
– Activist of the Year (Panel)
– Content Creator of the Year
– Entrepreneur of the Year (Panel)
– Female Sportsperson of the Year (Panel)
– Male Sportsperson of the Year (Panel)
– Business of the Year (Panel)
– Female Artist of the Year (Panel)
– Male Artist of the Year (Panel)

STAGE 3: THE AWARDS (02.12.23)

The awards in all 15 categories will be presented at the Black & Irish Gala Awards, powered by RTÉ on Saturday 2nd December in the Osprey Hotel Naas, Co. Kildare.

Commenting on this year’s Black and Irish Gala Awards, Black and Irish CEO, Leon Diop (pictured) said: “We are delighted to see the Black and Irish Gala awards returning for its third year. We are even more excited that they will now be powered by RTÉ. This will help us in our main goal of spotlighting the many hardworking and talented black and mixed-race people from all over Ireland. We’re taking the awards to Kildare this year and the Osprey Hotel will be a great venue for a wonderful night of celebration and recognition” 

As media partner, RTÉ will be supporting the Black and Irish Gala Awards with a TV, radio, online and social media campaign.

For more on the Black and Irish Gala Awards see www.blackandirish.com and follow RTÉ’s social media accounts using #BIGAwards23.

RTÉ is looking for new members of the RTÉ Audience Council to help us understand the views of our diverse audiences.

RTÉ is required to appoint an Audience Council under the Broadcasting Act 2009. The appointment and co-ordination of the RTÉ Audience Council is carried out by the RTÉ Board.

The RTÉ Audience Council is voluntary committee made up of 15 members and advises the RTÉ Board on specific issues relating to RTÉ’s public service remit and audience needs. It also facilitates communication between RTÉ and its audiences to enhance accountability.

Those interested in being an active voluntary member of the RTÉ Audience Council are invited to send a short personal profile and a statement of suitability to audiencecouncil@rte.ie or by post to Audience Council, RTÉ, Dublin 4 by Tuesday 31st October.

Nominations may also be made by RTÉ Board members.

Details on the RTÉ Audience Council can be found at https://about.rte.ie/inside-rte-2/audience-council/.

RTÉ will provide extensive coverage of Budget 2024 across digital, radio and television on Tuesday 10th October with extensive reporting and analysis in both English and as Gaeilge. From early morning, RTÉ News will carry in-depth coverage of Budget 2024 online and on the RTÉ News social channels. The Minister for Finance’s Budget 2024 speech and the speech from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform will broadcast live from Dáil Éireann on RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ One, RTÉ News Channel and on Raidió na Gaeltachta. Reporting and analysis will continue throughout the day across RTÉ services.

Television coverage of the Budget speeches will begin at 12.40pm on RTÉ One and the RTÉ News channel where David McCullagh and Sharon Ní Bheoláin will introduce live coverage from Dáil Éireann of Budget 2024 including studio analysis with a panel of guests. Eileen Whelan will get live reaction to the Budget measures as they happen from Dublin city centre, speaking with advocacy and interest groups and RTÉ’s North East Correspondent Laura Hogan will get reaction on the ground in County Monaghan.

RTÉ Radio 1’s coverage of the Budget speeches will broadcast live on a special extended News at One with Bryan Dobson from 12.45pm until 3.30 pm. The programme will include speeches from both Finance Minister Michael McGrath and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe. Presenter Bryan Dobson will also hear from the Opposition and feature immediate reaction and analysis. A busy Drivetime Budget Special, presented by Cormac O’hEadhra, will analyse the key talking points from the budget announcement from 4.30pm. And there will be more debate from across the political spectrum on Late Debate with Colm O’Mongáin live from Buswells Hotel at 10pm.

RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta’s programme Lá na Cáinaisnéise presented by Máirín Ní Ghadhra will cover Budget 2024 live from Leinster House from 1.30pm featuring analysis from panelists tax consultant Ciarán Ó Feinneadha, journalist Áine Ní Chiaráin, Ciarán Mac an Bhaird, Head of Fiontar and Scoil na Gaeilge in DCU, Seán Ó Riain, Professor of Sociology at Maynooth University, and RTÉ RnaG Political Editor Cuan Ó Seireadáin. Coverage continues on Tús Áite from 5pm, presented by Fachtna Ó Drisceoil live from Leinster House, where panelists will analyse the implications and likely political fallout of the decisions announced in the Budget and get reaction from public representatives.

From the start of the day, the RTÉ News app and RTÉ.ie/news will carry comprehensive coverage of Budget 2024, from breaking news lines to in-depth analysis. A live blog throughout the day will keep track of all the latest developments as the Government unveils its plan to tackle higher interest rates, the housing crisis and the cost of living. RTÉ journalists online will help make sense of the financial plan and explain what it means for everyone. Those looking for key headlines from the day can follow RTÉ’s ‘At a glance’ key points, while a shareable explainer video will tell the story of the budget in just 90 seconds. Followers of RTÉ News on social media can also submit budget questions to be answered in a live Q&A blog by financial experts. Live streams of RTÉ’s television and radio coverage will be available worldwide to users via the RTÉ News app, RTÉ Player and RTÉ Radio Player.

Nuacht RTÉ/TG4 will produce a special hour-long programme for TG4 on budget day. Buiséad 2024 begins on TG4 at 2pm with a panel of studio and remote guests sifting through and analysing the measures as they are announced, presented by Beirní Ní Chuinn. Nuacht RTÉ le TG4 at 5.40pm on RTÉ One will summarise and give reaction to the announced measures and Eimear Ní Chonaola will bring reaction from around the country to Nuacht TG4‘s audience at 7pm. Finally, 7Lá presented by Máirín Ní Ghadra at 8pm on TG4 will do a deeper dive into the implications of Budget 2024.

An extended Six-One News, presented by David McCullagh and Sharon Tobin, will recap the budget announcements and provide comprehensive coverage of Budget 2024. While Sharon Ní Bheoláin will update viewers on the reaction to the financial measures on the Nine O’Clock News. On the Prime Time Budget Special, Miriam O’Callaghan and Sarah McInerney will continue the analysis of the announcements of the day. They will put the issues to Minister for Finance Michael McGrath and Sinn Féin spokesperson on finance Pearse Doherty. While Consumer Journalist Sinead Ryan and Finance specialist Brendan Burgess will share their reaction to the Budget measures.

On the morning after the Budget, Morning Ireland will examine the main talking points on RTÉ Radio 1 and the RTÉ News channel, and later at 10am, Claire Byrne will be joined in studio by Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe for the annual budget phone-in special. As always, Today with Claire Byrne invites listeners to put their questions about Budget 2024 directly to the Ministers.

This is Art! – the annual art competition run by RTÉ in association with The Creative Ireland Programme for young people 0 -18 years throughout the island of Ireland – will showcase an amazing selection of the 15,000 entries received since its launch in 2021 in a new art exhibition.

This special This is Art! exhibition is free of charge and will run in the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA), Ely Place, Dublin 2, from Friday 6th October to Sunday 29th October. Opening times are from 11.00am – 5.00pm, Monday – Friday (6.30pm Wednesday) and from 12.00 noon – 6.30pm on Sunday.

THIS IS INTERACTIVE!

Through QR codes beside artists’ names, visitors to the exhibition will get a unique insight into each piece by being brought directly to the artist’s statement which describes in their own words what inspired them to produce the piece. Just scan the QR code with your phone’s camera.

THEMES TO DATE – THIS IS INSPIRATION!

Three themes will be on display at this exhibition. Each year, young artists of all abilities respond visually to a theme.

In 2021, the theme was “This is Now” which invited our young artists to respond creatively to lockdown. Hope, sadness, confusion, anger, and joy converge in an invaluable time capsule of creativity from a time that rocked the world.

In the beginning of 2022, with a return to normality on the horizon, the theme was “This is Extraordinary”. Again, the artworks submitted painted a picture of the concerns of young people in Ireland as we transitioned cautiously to a new freedom.

In 2023, the theme was “This is Inspiration”. At last, the talent and creativity of our young people could run wild – and it did.

Commenting on the This is Art! exhibition, Director-General of RTÉ, Kevin Bakhurst said: “The This is Art! competition celebrates creativity among young people across this island and has been an important part of RTÉ’s support of our youngest artists over the last three years. RTÉ is proud once again to partner with Creative Ireland in this special collaboration with the RHA in its 200th year to provide another opportunity to showcase some incredible art, and celebrate young artists and their artistic creations. Well done and thank you to all those who have participated in This is Art! since it started three years ago. This is a celebration of all of you, and of your inspirational creativity.”

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin said: “Many congratulations to the talented young people who have submitted 15,000 artworks and participated in This is Art! since it first launched in 2021. This exhibition is a fantastic reflection of the boundless creativity and enthusiasm of our young citizens. It is wonderful to be able to bear witness to it and I hope that they will continue to express themselves so eloquently for many years to come”

Suzanne Kelly, Head of Young People’s Programming, RTÉ said: “This Is Art! began in 2020 as an RTÉ Young Peoples’s digital art initiative; A way to connect kids and young adults through a pandemic, through art. It tapped into the most awe-inspiring creativity and delivered the most poignant digital visual record, Now moving into its fourth year This Is Art! continues to go from strength to strength and I am so thrilled that in collaboration with the RHA & Creative Ireland Programme, RTÉ can bring together under one roof some of artworks uploaded over the past three years for everyone to celebrate, appreciate and enjoy. I would particularly like to commend all of the artists that have taken the time to participate over the past three years, congratulations to everyone involved – This is Art!!!”

For more on the exhibition, visit: https://rhagallery.ie/events/exhibitions/this-is-art/. 

For more on This is Art!, visit https://www.rte.ie/thisisart. 

Keep up with This is Art! across RTÉ’s and The Creative Ireland Programme’s social media accounts using #thisisart

ABOUT THIS IS ART!

The This is Art! annual competition is run by RTÉ in association with the Creative Ireland Programme. It’s exclusively for young people aged 0 to 18 throughout the island of Ireland. It’s easy to enter – you just take a photo of your work and upload to the website, www.rte.ie/thisisart. To date we’ve had over 15,000 entries, and we are showing a small but amazing selection of some of the entries from the last three years.

THIS IS AWARD-WINNING!

Every year, our jury panel give a whole series of amazing awards to these amazing young artists.

With the Grand Prix Award, five young artists, one in each category, receive the This Is Art! Grand Prix. In 2021, winners received a specially commissioned sculpture by visual artist Vera Klute ARHA; in 2022, a trophy handmade by visual artist Shane Keeling; and in 2023, a one-of-a-kind glass trophy handmade by master glass maker, Róisín de Búitléar.

We also give Commendations, with selected works across all categories receiving Commendation Certificates along with prize vouchers for art materials and a professional review of their work.

There are Group Bursaries too. Professional art facilitators provide a unique art experience for the winners and runners up in the group category, and we offer Bursaries towards art courses, vouchers for art materials, and picture framing vouchers too.

THIS IS THE BACKGROUND!

The idea to have a digital art competition for young people came about in 2020, during lockdown. RTÉ Young People’s Programming were looking for a way to connect creative young people on the island of Ireland in the absence of school or social gatherings. We knew from the drawings and pictures that were being sent to us on the RTÉjr’s Home School Hub that kids were busy creating at home. So, RTÉ and The Creative Ireland Programme created a wider creative platform for visual expression that was as inclusive as possible. We created a space for young people to showcase and write about their work with confidence. We championed different ways of creating and thinking about art. And we created this amazing showcase for the creativity of Ireland’s young people, with an online gallery and archive that tells the story of their time and experience.

RTÉ SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2023: SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED AT SPECIAL LIVE EVENT AND LIVE ON RTÉ RADIO 1 ON FRIDAY 27th OCTOBER

INFO: www.rte.ie/writing

TICKETS: https://www.paviliontheatre.ie/events/view/arena-short-story 

FOLLOW: #rteshortstory

Image features 2022 winner, Brendan Killeen for ‘Big Why, Little Why’ along with last year’s judges.

RTÉ has announced details of the ten exciting new stories which have been shortlisted for the RTÉ Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus 2023, from more than 1,700 entries.

The judges were writers Ferdia MacAnna, Kathleen MacMahon and Claire Kilroy.

Talking about this year’s stories on behalf of the judges, Kathleen MacMahon said that the stories “were a delight to read and a testament to the great Irish tradition of storytelling. There were stories that surprised us, stories that made us laugh, and stories that took the form in a new and exciting direction.”

The 2023 shortlist (in alphabetical order, by title) is:

• Artificial Intelligence for Psychotherapists, by Ilona Adams
• Breathe, by Robin Livingstone
• It All Began with the Turlough, by Caoimhín Gaffney
• Mr Hoo, by John O’Donnell
• Off Season, by Jamie Samson
• On Craigavon Bridge, by Peter McCauley
• Tessa and Vivianne, by Julie Cruickshank
• The Turkish Rug, by Natalie Ryan
• The Warbler, by Caitríona McArdle
• You, by Nadine O’Regan

(Details on the writers and their stories are included below. along with the RTÉ Radio 1 broadcast schedule)

The stories will be available to read on rte.ie/culture from the weekend of 14th – 15th October, and broadcast at 11.20pm each night on RTÉ Radio 1 from Monday 16th October as part of Late Date with Cathal Murray and Fiachna Ó Braonáin. Readers on this year’s series include Marty Rea, Aaron Monaghan, Janet Moran, Elaine O’Dwyer and Camille Lucy Ross.

The stories will also be regularly featured on Arena with Seán Rocks, leading up to this year’s live Arena/ RTÉ Short Story Awards evening which takes place at 7pm on Friday 27 October in the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. On the night, we’ll hear from our judges, Claire Kilroy, Ferdia MacAnna and Kathleen MacMahon, the shortlisted writers and each of the stories in live performance before the judges award their top prizes.

Tickets are available at: https://www.paviliontheatre.ie/events/view/arena-short-story. 

The winning writer will receive €5,000, while the second and third placed writers will receive €4,000 and €3,000 respectively. A further seven runners-up will receive €250 each.

Sarah Binchy, series producer said: “There’s a freshness, assurance and playfulness to these writers’ treatment of their diverse stories of innocence and experience, loss and longing and sharp alertness to the natural world. We’re looking forward very much to sharing the shortlist on air with our listeners – as brought to life by our talented actors– ahead of the finale in the Pavilion, where we’ll hear a flavour of all the stories in live performance, gain insights from the judges on the short story form, and find out who’s won the top prizes.”

Set up in 1986 to honour writer and broadcaster Francis MacManus, the RTÉ Short Story Competition has been a critically important launch pad for new and emerging writers in Ireland. Past winners and shortlisted writers include Claire Keegan, Danielle McLaughlin, Anthony Glavin, Chris Binchy, Nuala O’Connor, Liz Nugent, Colin Walsh, Stephen Walsh, Austin Duffy and Sarah Gilmartin.

For more on the RTÉ Short Story Competition, see www.rte.ie/writing.   

ABOUT THE 2023 SHORTLISTED STORIES AND THEIR AUTHORS

The broadcast schedule, as part of Late Date with Cathal Murray and Fiachna Ó Braonáin, nightly (except for Saturday 21 October) at 11.20pm starting Monday 16 October is:

• Monday 16 Oct: The Turkish Rug, by Natalie Ryan, read by Andrew Bennett
• Tuesday 17 Oct: Tessa and Vivianne, by Julie Cruickshank, read by Janet Moran
• Wednesday 18 Oct: Off Season, by Jamie Samson, read by Rory Nolan
• Thursday 19 Oct: Breathe, by Robin Livingstone, read by Marty Rea
• Friday 20 October: It All Began with the Turlough, by Caoimhín Gaffney, read by Aaron Monaghan
• There will be no story broadcast on Saturday 21st October
• Sunday 22 October: You, by Nadine O’Regan, read by Kathy Rose O’Brien
• Monday 23 October: Artificial Intelligence for Psychotherapists, by Ilona Adams, read by Camille Lucy Ross
• Tuesday 24 October: On Craigavon Bridge, by Peter McCauley, read by David Pearse
• Wednesday 25 October: Mr Hoo, by John O’Donnell, read by Emmet Farrell
• Thursday 26 October: The Warbler, by Caitríona McArdle, read by Elaine O’Dwyer

The Turkish Rug, by Natalie Ryan

“The rug was delivered the fortnight after Samuel returned from Istanbul. He’d extended his business trip layover to visit the ancient city, taking the weekend to absorb its history and culture, to soak and be scoured clean in its baths. Helen had encouraged him to take the extra time. She’d wanted to rest on holidays nowadays, didn’t fancy going here, there and everywhere. The Canaries would do her from now on…”

Natalie Ryan was born in Ireland, but spent her childhood in Ghana, West Africa. After an MA in Creative Writing at UCD, she won the Bryan MacMahon Short Story Award at Listowel Writers’ Week (2011). A Words Ireland 2020 mentee, she has been shortlisted for The Hennessy (2015/2021) and previous Francis MacManus (2011) awards and published in The Stinging Fly Magazine and All Over Ireland, a 2015 Faber and Faber anthology. She has a boutique in Greystones but lives in Dublin with her husband and their three boys.

About the story: Natalie says: “The catalyst was the image of a half-rolled Turkish rug that I saw in a bedroom once. I work in retail, the fitting room can be like the confession box, and I was struck by the amount of women—specifically the boomer generation—struggling to adjust to recently retired partners and these same partners trying to reconcile life without the identifier of work. I’m interested in the power dynamics of relationships and how they evolve, or don’t, over time. The rug also served to represent we choose to reveal of ourselves to the world and what we roll up tight and keep hidden.”

She adds: “At the Cúirt festival in April, rather maudlin after a slew of rejections, I told a writer friend that I was going to try one more story and if it wasn’t published, I would throw the towel in and have a clean house and a to-list that would actually get done. After a few days of literary immersion, I returned to real life and suburbia and this story insisted on being written. The house remains in squalor!”

The Turkish Rug by Natalie Ryan will be read on air by Andrew Bennett.

*****

Tessa and Vivianne, by Julie Cruickshank

“On an early morning trip to the bathroom I saw my mother standing beside the window in her bedroom. She had been dead for three weeks by then.

She wore the outfit she had been buried in, a turquoise peacock patterned caftan she had made herself, with a matching bandana, arranged to cover the scar that ran from her throat to just above her ear…”

Originally from Galway, Julie Cruickshank lives and works in Dublin. This is her third time to be shortlisted for this competition; she was previously shortlisted for Beneath the Trees, Where Nobody Sees in 2020, and last year with The Coast of Africa.

About the story: Julie says: “I thought about writing a ghost story originally, but not a scary one, and it occurred to me that the most persistent, nosy and irritating ghost of all would be a mother. I became more forgiving of the mother character as I wrote and I identified more with her as the story

emerged, how, like many women, she muddled along, doing the best she could, in difficult circumstances.

“At some point in our adult lives I think we generally try to come to terms with our parents’ imperfections and limitations, minor and more serious, and let go; this story is about making peace with the loss that this entails, both real and imagined.”

*****

Off Season, by Jamie Samon

“This was Torremolinos in March, and it was barely even March, and it was barely even Torremolinos. A stretch of coast called La Carihuela, in fact – about two kilometres down the promenade from the rowdy centre of town. Certainly a kind of paradise, but a freakish, menacing, off-duty paradise, all dead beaches and shivering palms, boarded-up casinos, dark shops plastered with peeling inducements. The bodies that trundled across the playa belonged not to the young and beautiful but to blitzed-out pensioners in winter coats. It was my kind of place.”

Jamie Samson (pen name of Jamie O’Donoghue) is a writer from Dublin. His fiction has been published in The Irish Times and The Ogham Stone. He was a finalist at the 2019 Hennessy Literary Awards in the First Fiction category. He currently works as a copywriter and has lived in various countries, including France, Spain, Israel, the Czech Republic, and Canada.

About the story

Jamie says: “The Costa del Sol in late winter has a very peculiar atmosphere, with its cold palm trees and vacant boardwalks. It seemed like the perfect setting for a story about love and nostalgia, and the disappointments that arise when we try to revive the past.”

Off Season by Jamie Samson will be read on air by Rory Nolan.

*****

Breathe, by Robin Livingstone

“He’s 17 but looks 15. He’s wearing a blue Fred Perry polo, Wranglers, a pair of cherry-red Doctor Marten shoes. Because it’s the summer side of May he’s got his jumper knotted around his waist. He’s so skinny the only time he ever had a pair of RUC handcuffs on he slid his hands in and out of them to pass the time in the back of the Land Rover…”

Robin Livingstone has been a journalist on a local newspaper in Belfast for 35 years, covering a wide range of issues during the worst years of the conflict and latterly in times of relative peace. He also pens a weekly newspaper diary in which he takes a light-hearted view of the stories in the news. He has a passion for Irish wildlife and the outdoors and is greatly attached to his blackthorn and binoculars. He is married with three children and is currently besotted with his first granddaughter.

About the story: “I was a young journalist around the time that plastic bullets started to take their deadly toll and have both personal and professional experience of the devastation wrought by a supposedly ‘non-lethal’ weapon. It’s an issue that has stayed with me as I’ve grown older.”

Breathe by Robin Livingstone will be read on air by Marty Rea on Thursday 19 October on RTÉ Radio 1.

*****

You, by Nadine O’Regan

“You think about him all the time. It’s been a month since you broke up and you have a lump in your throat, permanently. His favourite band release a new album and you wonder if he likes it. You see a black leather jacket he’d look nice in and you fantasise about buying it for him. You turn up in places you think he’ll be – the cheap hamburger place off Dame Street, the Gingerman bar on Fenian Street, the indie club night in Lost Lane. You are addicted to his Twitter feed. You look at your WhatsApp constantly in case he texts or even just to see if he’s online….”

Nadine O’Regan is an award-winning journalist, presenter and podcaster. Editor of the Business Post Magazine, the culture and lifestyle magazine published weekly with the Irish media brand, she is also a broadcaster who has presented shows on RTÉ Radio 1 (Late Date, Future Sounds and Rising Time), Phantom FM (The Kiosk) and Today FM (Songs in the Key of Life). From Skibbereen in Co. Cork, Nadine has an M.Phil. in Creative Writing from Trinity College Dublin. She lives in Dublin with her husband Shane and son Oscar.

About the story

Nadine says: “Earlier this year I took part in an online creative writing workshop with the author David Nicholls. He had given us a prompt to pen a scene that involved three characters, two of whom were speaking to each other, and a third who was observing from a distance. At the time, I was on maternity leave, and I was spending a lot of my mornings in the park, walking my sleeping baby in the buggy. One day I saw a couple having an argument that sounded very much like their relationship was ending. It got me thinking: what if another character was there, listening surreptitiously — and what if this character was somehow part of their story? This short story is a tale of romantic betrayal and it’s also about the way we live now — so many of us devote our lives to social media posts and WhatsApp messages, but is it serving only to increase our sense of isolation?”

*****

It All Began with the Turlough, by Caoimhín Gaffney

“The turlough appeared now in early summer instead of its autumn arrival as the 30 years previous. Blow-ins would be forgiven for thinking it was a lake that belonged here, but locals know it had taken over the depressed field that lay off the main road beside the graveyard. A house, which no one had ever seen anyone living in, sat on the other side, with yellow gorse peering over it from the hill known as Carrick, or the Rock. The turlough’s water bounced light around the hills, with the neighbours opposite complaining that it was reflecting sunlight into their sitting room and moonlight right into their bedroom and, either way, they could see too much or they couldn’t see anything at all…”

Caoimhín Gaffney is an artist, filmmaker and writer. Born in Dublin and living in Cavan, their work has been shown at exhibitions and screenings across Ireland and in the UK, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. In 2017, a monograph titled Unseen By My Open Eyes was published which featured four of their film scripts and their corresponding translations in Irish, Persian, Korean and Mandarin. In 2022 they completed their PhD about queer artist filmmaking practice at Ulster University. Their work is featured in the art collections of the Arts Council, Imma and the Crawford Art Gallery. www.caoimhin.xyz

About the story: Caoimhín says: “Over the past few years, I’ve walked to and photographed a local turlough, sometimes surprised to return to its disappearance. I’m interested in how we view nature as something that should provide us with our wants and needs, and how often we also view it with irritation when it defies or inconveniences us. So, I had the idea of this innocuous turlough — and all the surrounding lakes in Cavan — beginning to operate of their own volition, and how this would restructure society around them and ultimately reshape our relationship to nature.”

It All Began with The Turlough, by Caoimhín Gaffney, will be read on air by Aaron Monaghan.

*****

Artificial Intelligence for Psychotherapists, by Ilona Adams

“You’re making friends with a robot?”

“I swear, my therapist told me to.”

“Forgive me if I suddenly doubt your therapist’s licence.”

Caoimhe looks at me with all the caring country force of her mother and grandmother before

her. For a moment, a mirage of a dusty rolling pin and an apron.

“Don’t look at me like that if you’re not going to bake me scones or something.”

“I could bake you scones if you think it would help…”

Ilona Adams was born in Dublin and studied engineering in UCD. She currently works part time as a programmer and has just moved to Cork to begin an MA in Music Performance on the viola. At present, her writing career mostly consists of sending uninvited reviews of old films to her friends via email.

About the story

Ilona says: “Artificial Intelligence for Psychotherapists was inspired by the recent boom in high quality AI chatbots. It was not inspired by advice from my real therapist!”

Artificial Intelligence for Psychotherapists by Ilona Adams will be read on air by Camille Lucy Ross.

*****

On Craigavon Bridge, by Peter McCauley

“‘We’ve gone and lost the dog. That’s what we’ll be telling her. We’ve gone and lost the dog. All you had to do was grab hold of it. Now it’s gone. Her face’ll be a sight when we tell her that we’ve gone and lost the dog’.

It was nearly midnight. A Tuesday in April. We walked along Foyle Road. Fierce cold. Biting wind coming off the Foyle. The dog’s empty leash dangling at my side…”

About Peter: “I was born and raised in Derry, and I have lived there ever since. I graduated from the Open University in 2018 with a first-class honours degree in English Language and Literature. I am passionate about developing a creative writing career. I have had some poetry published in the past and I am working on three children’s books that are in various stages of development at the moment. Also, I want to continue the work I’ve started with ‘On Craigavon Bridge’, namely, to set a series of stories, both for page and stage, in my native city of Derry.”

About the story: Peter says: “The story started out as a script that I’d entered for a BBC writing opportunity. It didn’t work out, so eventually I reworked it into a short story for this competition. It is not autobiographical (I have never owned a dog!) It was born out of my desire to set stories on the streets of my native Derry; stories that would celebrate the extraordinary in the ordinary, the universal in the local, and showcase my city as a unique, distinctive and compelling backdrop to the stories we tell ourselves and each other about what it means to be human.”

***

Mr Hoo, by John O’Donnell

“One says, ‘Do you want to tell us why you did it, Bird?’

I fold my wings over my head. The African grey can speak hundreds of words, did you know that? But it doesn’t understand what it’s saying; it’s just repeating the sounds it thinks people want to hear.

The other one sighs. ‘Come on, Robert,’ he says, and I scowl. My father’s name.

Mam starts stroking the back of my neck, which makes me want to cry…”

John O’Donnell is a writer and a lawyer. His work has been published and broadcast in Ireland and abroad. Awards include the Irish National Poetry Prize, and the New Irish Writing Awards for Poetry and Fiction. He has published five poetry collections. His collection of short stories Almost the Same Blue was longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. Rainbow Baby, a play for radio, was broadcast on RTE’s Drama On One and won a prize at the New York Festivals Radio Awards. He lives and works in Dublin.

About the story: John says: “Mr Hoo is loosely based on a real case; I still remember the late Professor Nial Osborough recounting the grisly facts to us in First Year Criminal Law. As a kid, the need to belong is overpowering; you’ll do nothing your parents ask of you, but you’ll do anything for your friends.”

Mr Hoo by John O’Donnell will be read on air by Emmet Farrell.

*****

The Warbler, by Caitriona McArdle

“The car shook along the road, gravel spitting into the verge, the mirror on my side scraping the hedgerows, leaving a haze of insects and dandelion seeds whispering past the window. Morning light blinked through the tangle of brambles and bushes, exposed the streaky windscreen and burned into my eyes. I pulled the visor down, turned up the radio. My father drove more slowly as the grass growing in the middle of the road got thicker, the ground beneath it softer. I shuffled in my seat, the torn edges of the plastic cover scratching the back of my thighs, my denim shorts damp and heavy in the warm air. A small but grievous sigh escaped me without much thought…”

Caitríona McArdle grew up in the midlands and now lives in Dublin city with her young daughter. She works as an architect.

About the story

Caitríona says: “The story is semi-autobiographical, in that none of it happened but all of it is true. It’s set in an Offaly bog in the early Nineties, a place and time that is forever etched in my mind, but for which I hold little fondness. A story of a father and daughter navigating grief and early adolescence, it’s about how, even with the best of intentions, we fail to see the kind of love that is being asked of us, while the kind of love that we give is more seen than we might realise.”

The Warbler by Caitríona McArdle will be read on air by Elaine O’Dwyer at 11.20pm on Thursday 26 October on RTÉ Radio 1.

FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER

Arena / RTÉ Short Story Competition Awards Night Special goes out live from the Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire at 7pm, hosted by Sean Rocks, with judges Ferdia MacAnna, Kathleen MacMahon and Claire Kilroy, featuring live music and extracts in live performance from all the stories, interviews with the shortlisted writers and the announcement of the top prizes. For tickets see https://www.paviliontheatre.ie/events/view/arena-short-story