Westival International Poetry Competition awards night in Grove House, Westport. The judges were: Geraldine Mitchell and Ger Reidy, with guest judge Sean Lysaght. The winning poem was ‘Planting Peonies’ by Lorely Forrester.

Fellow writers Ger Reidy and Nuala O’Connor and I are this year’s team of judges for this competition which has been a feature of Westport’s arts festival for many years.