The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature was created in 1976 by the Irish American businessman

Dan Rooney Daniel Milton Rooney (July 20, 1932 – April 13, 2017) was an American professional American football, football executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL), and son of ...

, owner and chairman of the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

franchise and former US Ambassador to Ireland. The prize is administered by the

Oscar Wilde Centre The Oscar Wilde Centre is an academic research and teaching unit in Trinity College Dublin. It was founded in 1998, and is located at 21 Westland Row, the house in which Oscar Wilde was born. This building, which is on the perimeter of Trinity, wa ...

and is awarded to

Irish writers Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...

aged under 40 who are published in Irish or English. Although often associated with individual books, it is intended to reward a body of work. Originally worth £750,"An Irishman's Diary", ''The Irish Times'', 7 May 1976. the current value of the prize is €10,000.Caroline Walsh, "Loose Leaves", ''The Irish Times'', 21 June 2008.

List of recipients

* 1976: Heno Magee * 1977:

Desmond Hogan Desmond Hogan (born 10 December 1950) is an Irish writer. Awarded the 1977 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and 1980 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, his oeuvre comprises novels, plays, short stories and travel writing. The ''Cork Examiner'' said: ...

* 1978:

Peter Sheridan Peter Sheridan (born 1952) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director. He lives in Dublin. His awards include the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 1978."Judges shortlist 16 authors", ''The Irish Times'', 4 September 1999 (NB article ...

* 1979:

Kate Cruise O'Brien Katherine Alexandra Cruise O'Brien (26 May 1948 – 26 March 1998) was an Irish writer. The third and youngest child of Irish politician and diplomat Conor Cruise O'Brien and Christine Foster, she was born in Dublin, and grew up in Howth. She went ...

, ''A Gift Horse'' (short stories) * 1980:

Bernard Farrell Bernard Farrell (born 1941) is an Irish dramatist, whose contemporary comedies – both light and dark – have been described as "well-wrought, cleverly shaped with a keen sense of absurdity" and as "dark and dangerous comedy in which characte ...

* 1981:

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish filmmaker and writer. He first achieved recognition for his short story collection, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia,'' which won the Guardian Fiction Prize in ...

* 1982:

Medbh McGuckian Medbh McGuckian (born as Maeve McCaughan on 12 August 1950) is a poet from Northern Ireland. Biography She was born the third of six children as Maeve McCaughan to Hugh and Margaret McCaughan in North Belfast. Her father was a school headmaste ...

; Special prize awarded to

Seán Ó Tuama Seán Ó Tuama (1926 – 14 October 2006) was an Irish poet, playwright and academic. Life Raised in the southern city of Cork and educated at the North Monastery (North Mon) school and University College Cork, Ó Tuama first came to promi ...

and

Thomas Kinsella Thomas Kinsella (4 May 1928 – 22 December 2021) was an Irish poet, translator, editor, and publisher. Born outside Dublin, Kinsella attended University College Dublin before entering the civil service. He began publishing poetry in the early ...

for ''An Duanaire / Poems of the Dispossessed'' * 1983: Dorothy Nelson, ''In Night's City'' (novel) * 1984:

Ronan Sheehan Ronan Sheehan (born 1953) is an Irish novelist, short story writer and essayist. He was an early member of the Irish Writers' Co-operative (founded in 1974 by Fred Johnston, Neil Jordan and Peter Sheridan) and its Secretary from 1975 to 198 ...

* 1985:

Frank McGuinness Professor Frank McGuinness (born 1953) is an Irish writer. As well as his own plays, which include '' The Factory Girls'', '' Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme'', '' Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' and '' Dolly West's Kitche ...

, ''

Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme ''Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme'' is a 1985 play by Frank McGuinness. Plot synopsis The play centres on the experiences of eight unionist Ulstermen who volunteer to serve in the 36th (Ulster) Division at the beginning of ...

'' (play) * 1986: Paul Mercier * 1987:

Deirdre Madden Deirdre Madden (born 20 August 1960) is a novelist from Northern Ireland. Career Madden was born in Toome, County Antrim and was educated at St Mary's Grammar School in Magherafelt. She proceeded to Trinity College, Dublin (BA) and then to th ...

, ''Hidden Symptoms'' (novel) * 1988:

Glenn Patterson Glenn Patterson FRSL (born 1961) is a writer from Belfast, Northern Ireland, best known as a novelist. In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Early life Patterson was born in Belfast, where he attended Methodist Col ...

, ''Burning Your Own'' (novel) * 1989: Robert McLiam Wilson, ''

Ripley Bogle ''Ripley Bogle'' is the debut novel of Northern Irish author Robert McLiam Wilson, published in 1989 in the UK although not until 1998 in the US. Written when he was 24, it is arguably his most acclaimed, winning the Rooney Prize and the Hughes ...

'' (novel) * 1990:

Mary Dorcey Mary Dorcey (born October 1950) is an Irish author and poet, feminist, and LGBT+ activist. Her work is known for centring feminist and queer themes, specifically lesbian love and lesbian eroticism. She has published ten books, including seven p ...

, ''A Noise from the Woodshed'' (short stories) * 1991:

Anne Enright Anne Teresa Enright (born 11 October 1962) is an Irish writer. The first Laureate for Irish Fiction (2015–2018) and winner of the Man Booker Prize (2007), she has published eight novels, many short stories, and a non-fiction work called ''Mak ...

, ''The Portable Virgin'' (short stories) * 1992: Hugo Hamilton * 1993: Gerard Fanning (poet) * 1994:

Colum McCann Colum McCann (born February 28, 1965) is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and currently resides in New York. He is known as an international writer who believes in the "democracy of storytelling." He has won ...

, ''Fishing the Sloe-Black River'' (short stories) * 1995:

Philip MacCann Philip MacCann is a British author. Born in Manchester, he was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and later studied creative writing at the University of East Anglia under Malcolm Bradbury. His first book, ''The Miracle Shed'' (1995), a collecti ...

, ''The Miracle Shed'' (short stories) * 1996: Mike McCormack, ''Getting It in the Head'' (short stories); additional Special Award presented to

Vona Groarke Vona Groarke is an Irish poet. Biography She has published fourteen books, including eight collections of poetry with the Gallery Press: ''Shale'' (1994), ''Other People's Houses'' (1999), ''Flight'' (2002), ''Juniper Street'' (2006), ''Spindr ...

and Conor O'Callaghan * 1997: Anne Haverty, '' One Day as a Tiger'' (novel) * 1998: David Wheatley, ''Thirst'' (poems) * 1999:

Mark O'Rowe Mark O'Rowe is an Irish playwright and screenwriter. Life Mark O'Rowe was born in 1970 in Dublin, Ireland, to parents Hugh and Patricia O'Rowe (to whom he dedicated his 1999 play, ''Howie the Rookie''). He grew up in Tallaght, a working-class ...

, ''Howie the Rookie'' (play) * 2000:

Claire Keegan Claire Keegan (born 1968) is an Irish writer known for her short stories, which have been published in ''The New Yorker'', '' Best American Short Stories'', ''Granta'', and ''The Paris Review''. She is also known for her novellas, two of which ha ...

, ''Antarctica'' (short stories), Special award presented to David Marcus. * 2001:

Keith Ridgway Keith Ridgway (born 2 October 1965) is an Irish novelist and short story writer. He has won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Prix Femina Etranger, the Prix du Premier Roman Etranger, the O. Henry Award, and the James Tait Black Mem ...

, ''Standard Time'' (short stories) * 2002:

Caitríona O’Reilly Caitríona O'Reilly (born 1973) is an Irish poet and critic. Life She earned BA and PhD degrees in Archaeology and English at Trinity College, Dublin, where she was awarded a PhD on American poetry, and was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish ...

, ''The Nowhere Birds'' (poems) * 2003: Eugene O'Brien, ''Eden'' (play) * 2004:

Claire Kilroy Claire Kilroy (born 1973) is a contemporary Irish author. She was born, and currently resides, in Dublin, Ireland. Background Early life Born in Dublin in 1973, Claire Kilroy grew up in the scenic fishing village of Howth, north of the city. Ed ...

, ''All Summer'' (novel) * 2005: Nick Laird, ''To a Fault'' (poems) * 2006:

Philip Ó Ceallaigh Philip Ó Ceallaigh (; born 23 March 1968) is an Irish short story writer and translator who lives in Bucharest. Ó Ceallaigh won the 2006 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and was shortlisted twice (2006 and 2009) for the Frank O'Connor Inte ...

, ''Notes from a Turkish Whorehouse'' (short stories) * 2007:

Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier and medical student who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in a ...

, ''There Are Little Kingdoms'' (short stories

* 2008:

Leontia Flynn Leontia Flynn is a poet and writer from Northern Ireland. Life and work Leontia Flynn was born in Downpatrick, Co Down and grew up between Dundrum and Newcastle, Co Down. She attended Assumption Grammar School, Ballynahinch and afterwards be ...

, ''Drives'' (poems) * 2009:

Kevin Power Kevin Power (born 1981) is an Irish writer and academic. His novel ''Bad Day in Blackrock'' was published by The Lilliput Press in 2008 and filmed in 2012 as ''What Richard Did''. In April 2009 Power received the 2008 Hennessy XO Emerging Ficti ...

, ''

Bad Day in Blackrock ''Bad Day in Blackrock'' is a 2008 novel by Kevin Power. The plot was loosely based on the real-life death of Brian Murphy that occurred in Dublin in 2000 as a result of a violent assault outside a nightclub.Irish Independent, 5 October 2008/Shoc ...

'' * 2010: Leanne O'Sullivan, ''Cailleach: The Hag Of Beara'' * 2011:

Lucy Caldwell Lucy Caldwell (born 1981) is a People of Northern Ireland, Northern Irish playwright and novelist. She was the winner of the 2021 BBC National Short Story Award and of the 2023 Walter Scott Prize. Biography She was born in Belfast in 1981 in w ...

* 2012:

Nancy Harris Nancy Harris is an Irish playwright and screenwriter. She was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2012. Early life and education Harris is the daughter of Anne and Eoghan Harris. She was educated at Trinity College Dublin, earnin ...

* 2013: Ciarán Collins * 2014: Colin Barrett * 2015:

Sara Baume Sara Baume (born 1984) is an Irish novelist. She was named on ''Grantas Best of Young British Novelists list in 2023. Biography Her father is of English descent while her mother is of Irish descent. As her parents travelled around in a cara ...

* 2016:

Doireann Ní Ghríofa Doireann Ní Ghríofa is an Irish poet and essayist who writes in both Irish and English. Biography Doireann Ní Ghríofa was born in Galway in 1981 but grew up in County Clare. She now lives in County Cork. Ní Ghríofa has been published w ...

* 2017: Elizabeth Reapy * 2018: Caitriona Lally * 2019: Mark O'Connell *2020: Stephen Sexton, ''If All the World and Love Were Young'' *2021:

Niamh Campbell Niamh Campbell is an Irish author. Her first work was published in Poetry Ireland Review when she was 17; she then went on to study and complete a PhD at King's College London and won a Next Generation Artist Award, publishing ''This Happy'' i ...

, ''This Happy'' *2022:

Seán Hewitt Seán Hewitt FRSL (born 1990) is a poet, lecturer and literary critic. In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Biography Seán Hewitt was born in Warrington, UK, to an Irish mother and English father. He studied E ...

*2023:

Michael Magee Michael or Mike Magee may refer to: * Michael Magee (actor) (1929–2011), Canadian actor and author * Mickey McGee (1947–2020), American drummer * Mike Magee (journalist) (born 1949), British journalist * Michael Magee, Irish casualty during the ...

, ''Close to Home'' *2024: Suad Aldarra, '' I Don't Want to Talk About Home''

References and footnotes

External links

* {{Rooney Prize for Irish Literature Awards established in 1976 Irish literary awards Literary awards honouring young writers Political book awards 1976 establishments in Ireland