The Ireland Chair of Poetry is delighted to announce the winners of the 2025 Student Award. Now in its sixth year, the Student Award is an initiative encouraging the writing of poetry within the three universities that support the Trust.
The Trust has awarded the following students:
Lexie Ashcroft
Finola Cahill
Anne Marie Dunne
Olivia Heggarty
Noel Howley
Alexandra Karaim
Commenting on the 2025 Student Award the Trustees had this to say:
“We take very seriously our responsibility to encourage student poets, particularly since we’re cognisant of the fact that all poets are students. We were struck by the great range of themes and topics addressed this year and the richness of imagery — everything from cows’ breath “that didn’t/ rise above the whitethorn” through “seals sunbathing on snow” to kitchen utensils that have moved “from Ballaghaderreen to Tallaght,/ only two lost along the way.” We look forward to seeing how all these students develop, hoping that none get lost along the way.”
Each student will be awarded a prize of €1,000. All prize winners have expressed their thanks to the Trust in their acceptance of the award.
Biographies:
Lexie Ashcroft
Lexie Ashcroft grew up in the North-East of Scotland. She is currently pursuing an MA in Poetry at Queen’s University Belfast, supported by a scholarship from the Robert Nicol Trust. Lexie has a passion for writing and studying poems written in the Doric dialect.
Finola Cahill
Finola Cahill is a writer from Co. Mayo. She won the 2023 Waterford Poetry Prize, the 2024 Listowel Writers Week Single Poem Award, and the 2025 Cúírt New Writing Poetry Prize. She is pursuing an MA in Poetry at Queen’s University Belfast.
Anne Marie Dunne
Ann Marie lives in Co. Kildare. She is studying for a Masters in Poetry in Queen’s University. Her poems have been published in Washing Windows V, Sidhe Press, The Apiary, The Ogham Stone, The Storms, Apricot Press, and The Honest Ulsterman.
Olivia Heggarty
Olivia Heggarty lives in Belfast. Her poems can be found in Propel, The Honest Ulsterman, Abridged, Skylight 47 and Banshee among other publications.
Noel Howley
Noel Howley lives in Waterford. He has had poems published in various journals including Poetry Ireland Review, The Honest Ulsterman, Kilkenny Broadsheet, Cork Literary Review, Revival Literary Journal and The Waxed Lemon. He was runner-up in the Cork Literary Review Poetry Manuscript Competition and was shortlisted for Listowel Writer’s Week Poetry Collection Competition and Commended in the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Prize.
Alexandra Karaim
Alexandra Karaim is a writer from Tucson, Arizona. In 2024, Alexandra received the Agility Award from the Irish Arts Council. She was a finalist for SmokeLong Quarterly’s 2022 Award for Flash Fiction. She was a contributing editor for the Belfield Literary Review, and has been published in New Word Order and SmokeLong Quarterly.
For more information please email irelandchairofpoetry@gmail.com