Poetry Aloud Poetry Speaking Competition

About

Poetry Aloud is an annual poetry speaking competition open to all post-primary students on the island of Ireland. It is organised by Poetry Ireland and the National Library of Ireland in partnership with University College Cork. Since it was launched in 2006, Poetry Aloud has grown from just a few hundred entries to almost 2,000 entries in 2017.

The late Seamus Heaney was a significant supporter of Poetry Aloud. When he won the David Cohen Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Literature, he nominated Poetry Aloud for the accompanying Clarissa Luard Award, and he remarked, “I truly believe Poetry Aloud deserves all the support it can get, because it promotes literature, and, in particular, poetry, widely, intimately and to inestimable effect. But fundamentally, I choose it because it brings poetry into the memory and affections of the young in a way that will make it a lifelong possession and value”. 

Structure

The competition has three stages: regional heats, which take place in different venues across the country; the semi-finals; and the final, which is held at the National Library of Ireland.

Participant categories

Prizes

Each category winner receives €300 and book tokens to the value of €300 for the winner’s school library. An overall winner will be chosen from the three category winners and will receive a further €200, the Seamus Heaney perpetual trophy and a signed book of poetry. The runner up in each category will receive a book token Certificates of participation will be presented to all finalists.

Watch highlights from Poetry Aloud 2019