Athlone writer wins prestigious Francis MacManus short story award

Flower Wild, a short story by Athone writer Shane Tivenan, was this evening announced as the winner of the RTÉ Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus, one of Ireland’s most significant literary prizes. The announcement was made live on Arena on RTÉ Radio 1 as part of a special programme dedicated to the awards.

Flower Wild, described by the judges as “spellbinding” and “an outstanding piece for radio”, takes the form of an imagined interior monologue of Violet Gibson, the Irishwoman who attempted to assassinate Mussolini.

Explaining the origins of the story, Shane, from Athlone but currently based in Madrid where he teaches English, said: “I came across Violet Gibson when listening to Lisa O’Neill’s song about her. I looked into Violet's life more over the following months and found many unknowns. What stories did she need to tell herself before she upped and shot an Italian dictator? Was it possible for her to stay sane in that asylum for three decades? Was she able to make peace with the complete abandonment, with herself, at the end of a life? These questions haunted me into writing Flower Wild.”

This is Shane’s first published – and broadcast – short story since he took up writing in 2018.

Second place was awarded to Kissing Booth by Alan Walsh from Wicklow town, while The Shape on the Strand by Katherine Duffy, from Dundalk but living in Churchtown, Dublin, was awarded third place.

As the overall winner, Shane Tivenan will receive €3,000, while €2,000 and €1,000 will be awarded to Alan Walsh and Katherine Duffy respectively. Each of the seven runners-up will receive €250.

All 10 shortlisted stories will be broadcast in a season of new writing on RTÉ Radio 1, starting tonight on Late Date with Cathal Murray at 11.20pm with the winning story, which will be read by Ingrid Craigie.

This year’s judges are: editor, lecturer and journalist, Madeleine Keane; award-winning short story writer and previous prize-winner of the RTÉ Short Story Competition, Danielle McLaughlin; and writer and broadcaster, Vincent Woods.

What the judges said about Flower Wild by Shane Tivenan

“An outstanding piece for radio; the narrative voice utterly assured and compelling, the story dramatic and poignant, the structure unerring” - Vincent Woods

“Flower Wild distils a whole life into this demanding art form. Much is handled - history, politics, religion - and yet it is so well controlled. As a portrait of madness, it utterly compelling and credible” - Madeleine Keane

“A spellbinding piece of historical fiction, Flower Wild presents the story of a particular moment in history, while also encompassing the broader sweep of one Irishwoman's life” - Danielle McLaughlin

Another Athlone writer Rory Duffy was among five writers outside the top ten who were highly commended.

Sarah Binchy, producer of the RTÉ Short Story Competition series, said: “Our congratulations to the prizewinners and all on the shortlist. These talented writers are literary names to watch. We look forward to bringing their richly imagined stories to a wide audience on the radio and by podcast over the next two weeks.”

The short story will be broadcast tonight, Monday, 11.20pm, as part of Late Date.

You can read all 10 shortlisted stories at www.rte.ie/Culture. They will also be available for listen-back and podcast at rte.ie/writing and wherever you get your podcasts.

RTÉ received a record number of entries for this year’s competition, with over 4000 short stories being submitted from throughout Ireland, and beyond, before the May deadline. Stay up to date on all things #RTEshortstory with RTÉ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.