17 September, 2025

Announcing our Cill Rialaig Residencies Awardees 2025

We are delighted to announce the seven Irish Writers Centre members who have been selected for the Cill Rialaig residencies, in partnership with Cill Rialaig Arts Centre. The chosen writers are Cáit Moloney, Caitlyn O’Reilly, Joanne Hayden, Joe Phádraig Ó Fátharta, Kerri Sonnenberg, Róisín Sheehy and Saoirse Morrigan.

This iteration marks the eleventh consecutive year of Irish Writers Centre residencies with Cill Rialaig. The awarded writers will spend ten days in Cill Rialaig, locally known as ‘the edge of the world’. Roe McDermott, 2023 Cill Rialaig Residency awardee said this about her experience: “…Getting to slow down, inhale the beauty of the landscape, and spend the dark moonlit evenings reading and thinking felt like a generous gift.”

WRITER STUDIOS IN THE VILLAGE OF CILL RIALAIG, CO. KERRY

 

Cill Rialaig Residencies Awardees:

Cáit Moloney is a writer from Co. Limerick. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Politics and English, from University College Cork (2013), and a Masters in Fine Arts in Playwriting, from The Lir Academy, Trinity College, Dublin (2022). She was the recipient of the Patricia Leggett Scholarship for Playwriting (2021/2). Some of her writing credits include; Tastes like Chicken (Phizzfest Arts Festival), Prosecco Wedding (Smock Alley Theatre), Marnie (Film Limerick), The Marketing Department (One Giant Leap, the Storyteller’s), Engines of Play (“Scripted” w/The Lir), Enter the Stranger (co-created) with Dublin Fringe Festival x Dublin Digital Radio.

Caitlyn O’Reilly is a Dublin born poet and novelist coming from the Irish Traveller community. She is an English and Classics student at Trinity College with a fondness for mythological allusions. She has multiple published poems in The Attic and took part in the anthology “These Tender Hooks” with MoLI. She is also an Edna O’Brien Bursary participate and a UK and Ireland Uni Slam Finalist. She is working towards her debut Novel and an Anthology.

Joanne Hayden is a writer from Dublin. Her work has been published in literary journals including the Dublin Review, Banshee, the Storms, the Cormorant and Crannóg and has been broadcast on RTÉ Radio. She was shortlisted for the RTÉ Short Story Award twice and her play, Salvage, was shortlisted for the ESB/Fishamble Tiny Plays for a Brighter Future Award. Joanne has worked extensively as a literary critic and arts journalist. She was 2023-2024 Emerging Writer in Residence for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. In 2022 and 2023 she received Agility Awards from the Arts Council of Ireland.

Is scríbhneoir mé ó dheisceart Chonamara atá ag teagasc na Gaeilge mar ghairm beatha. Tá gearrscéalta foilsithe go dtí seo agam i roinnt irisí, Howl agus Channel ina measc.

Joe Phádraig Ó Fátharta is a writer from south Conamara who teaches the Irish language by profession. Joe has previously published short stories in journals such as Howl and Channel.

Kerri Sonnenberg is the author of The Mudra(Litmus Press). Her recent work appears or is forthcoming in Southward, Second Factory, Banshee, Magma, Berlin Lit, The Waxed Lemon, and Tears in the Fence. In 2025, she is serving as a poet-collaborator-translator for the Cork–Cologne twinning cities project and as a poet with Freedom to Write, an initiative of The John Hewitt Society and Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann. She is the recipient of individual artist bursaries from the Arts Council and Cork City Council.

Is file, drámadóir agus craoltóir í Róisín Sheehy.  D’fhoilsigh Coiscéim a céad cnuasach filíochta Líomóidí ‘s Rúbarb.  I 2022 d’fhoilsigh LeabharComhar a dráma Snámh na Saoirse. Tá duaiseanna Oireachtais buaite aici dá cuid saothar filíochta agus drámaíocht.  Ghnóthaigh Snámh na Saoirse gradam Stewart Parker Trust.  Bronnadh Complacht Patrick Kavanagh uirthi i 2021.   Is as Corca Dhuibhne ó dhúchais di ach tá sí ag cur fúithi anois i gCill Chainnigh.

Róisín Sheehy is an award winning poet and playwright and broadcaster.  Coiscéim published her debut collection ‘Líomóidí ‘s Rúbarb’.  Her play ‘Snámh na Saoirse’ was published by Leabhar Comhar. Her poetry and plays have been awarded Oireachtas na Gaeilge awards.  ‘Snámh na Saoirse’ was awarded  a Stewart Parker Trust award.  She received a Patrick Kavanagh Fellowship in 2021.  Róisín is originally from West Kerry Gaeltacht and now lives in Kilkenny.

Saoirse Morrigan is a Co. Armagh based emerging writer of character-driven Romantasy inspired by the darker side of Irish folklore, fairytales and mythology. She is passionate about telling culturally authentic stories with women and Romance at their core.

Since 2023 she has been on the Board of Directors of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. When not world-building or wrangling her kids, she’s probably on Instagram talking about writing with a young family and the books she’s reading. Saoirse is also a dentist but would much rather write about falling in love in fantastical worlds.

 

Past recipients of the residency include:

2024:

Soula Emmanuel, Seosamh Jones, Caitríona Lane, Jessamine O’Connor,

Eoghan Smith, Séana Talbot and Stephen Walker.

2023:

Suad Al Darra, Sadhbh Devlin, Lisa Harding, Roe McDermott,

David McGrath, Aedín Ní Thiarnaigh and Aimée Walsh

2022:

Sasha de Buyl, Sonya Gildea, Niamh Scullion, Colette Ní Ghallchóir,

Anne McDonald, Trish Bennett, and Maggie Breen.

2021:

Michelle Gallen, A.M. Cousins, Catherine Prasifka, Réaltán Ní Leannáin,

Lydia Searle, Hilary McCollum, and Michelle NicPháidín.

2020:

Niamh Campbell, Úna-Minh Kavanagh, Lianne O’Hara, Damien Hasson,

Justine Carbery, Oisín Kearney, and Carrie-Jade Williams

2019:

Marie Breen-Smyth, Sheila Armstrong, June Caldwell, Charleen Hurtubise,

Katherine Mezzacappa, Olivia Fitzsimons, and Emily Cooper.

2018:

Brendan Mac Evilly, Dominique Cleary, Catherine Ann Cullen, Gerry Boland,

Caelainn Hogan, Paula Cunningham and John Fox.

2017:

Sue Leonard, Fiona O’Rourke, Breda Wall Ryan, Anna Heussaff,

Moyra Donaldson, Aiden O’Reilly and Kelly Creighton.

2016:

Louise C.Callaghan, Kate Kavanagh, Martin Malone, Dairena Ní Chinnéide,

Nessa O’Mahony, Sydney Weinberg and Adam Wyeth.

2015:

Andrea Carter, Anthony Glavin, Catherine Dunne, Lia Mills,

Louise Phillips, Maria McManus and Seán Hardie.

Each year, the Irish Writers Centre runs up to 20 free and exciting programmes to support writers’ development. Carrying our it’s work on an all-island basis, the Irish Writers Centre offers a range of support schemes, residency opportunities, mentoring, and other development programmes. View more opportunities for writers here.

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