CBS Kilkenny Francis MacManus Short Story Award
What is it?Our annual short story competition is named in honour of our past pupil, renowned writer and novelist Francis MacManus. It is competed for at both Junior and Senior Cycle level in our school and is one of the most prestigious prizes presented on Awards Night. Pictured is our 3 times Junior Winner Rohan Vargas. Inaugurated in 2005, we have already had one former winner Tim MacGabhann, go on to establish himself as a published novelist. TRIVIA: Did you know that Mr Boyle was shortlisted for the National Francis MacManus Competition run by RTE in 2021? |
Who was Francis MacManus?
Francis MacManus (8 March 1909 – 27 November 1965) was an Irish novelist and broadcaster. Born in Kilkenny, MacManus was educated in CBS Kilkenny and later at St. Patrick's College, Dublin and University College Dublin. After teaching for eighteen years at Synge Street Christian Brothers School in Dublin, MacManus joined the staff of Radio Éireann (precursor to RTÉ, the Irish national broadcasting entity) in 1948 as Director of Features.
Read more in our Alumni Section. |
Who is Tim MacGabhann?
TIM MACGABHANN was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, and began his writing career as a music journalist. Since 2013, he has reported from all over Latin America for outlets including Esquire, Thomson Reuters, Al Jazeera, and the Washington Post. His fiction, non-fiction, and poetry has appeared in Gorse, The Stinging Fly, and Washington Square, and he holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. He lives in Mexico City.
Read more in our Alumni Section |
Past Winners
Check out some of our previous winning stories below.
Hopefully, we will be able to get the full list of winners from the days before digital submissions up very soon.
Hopefully, we will be able to get the full list of winners from the days before digital submissions up very soon.
2022 Senior Winning Story: Jack Lawlor
2022 Junior Winning Story: Patryk Liszka 2021 Senior Winning Story: David Holland 2021 Junior Winning Story: Rohan Vargas 2020 Senior Winning Story: Michael Rafter 2020 Junior Winning Story: Rohan Vargas |
Whoo! TY Winner 2013: T Ryan
Room 13B 2013: C Boyle
Whoo! TY Winner 2012: C Brennan
Whoo! TY Winner 2012: R Kelly
Whoo! TY Winner 2012: L Maher
Whoo! TY Winner 2012: J Hanrick
Whoo! TY Winner 2012: B Buckley
Conditions of Entry
Conditions of entry
1500 words Junior competition.
- All entries must take the form of a short-story.
- Entries should be submitted by email to p.boyle@cbskilkenny.ie. They must be in Times New Roman font, size 12 and double spaced.
- All emails should clearly state "McManus Competition" in the subject bar.
- Stories should not be written in the body of the email but attached as a file.
- All entries must be the sole work of the entrant.
- Entries can be written to any length up to a maximum of:
1500 words Junior competition.
- The junior competition is open to all students of CBS Kilkenny from 1st to 3rd year.
- The senior competition is open to all students of CBS Kilkenny from 4th to 6th year.
- The winners of both awards will be announced in school, and the awards will be presented on Awards Night.
- The closing date for submissions is annouved annually.