2026 Frances Browne Poetry Competition Open
Deadline Midnight 19 August 2026
The Frances Browne Poetry Competition is back, and it's looking for you — yes, you, dog-eared notebook and all.
Now in its 18th year, our multilingual competition is a proper celebration of the unique heritage of East Donegal and the Finn Valley, welcoming poets writing in English, Irish, and Ulster-Scots. We're delighted to say entries are now open, and we're excited to hear from voices both familiar and brand new — from just down the road and from right across the globe.
So whether you're new to poetry or you've a drawer full of poems going back years that have never seen daylight, take a leaf out of Frances Browne's book (quite literally) and have the courage to let your words out. We promise to treasure them — that's rather the whole point.
Here's the headlines:
Deadline for entries: midnight on Wednesday 19th August 2026
Categories: English, Irish and Ulster-Scots languages. For each of these categories, poets from East Donegal (the Lifford-Stranorlar area) can also enter our Local competition — at no extra fee. Two chances to place, one entry fee. We do like to be generous.
Cost of entry: €5 / £4 / $5 per poem. Pay online via our website, where you'll also find other payment options.
Number of poems: Enter as many as you like. No line limit either — your epic is welcome, as is your haiku.
Winners announced: At our Awards Ceremony on Friday 9th October 2026, in Kee's Hotel, Stranorlar — where winning poems are read live, in all three languages, to a real live audience. It's a great night. Bring tissues, just in case.
Prizes
- English Language — First Prize €250, Second Prize €100, Third Prize €50
- Irish Language — First Prize €250, Second Prize €100, Third Prize €50
- Ulster-Scots Language — First Prize €250, Second Prize €100, Third Prize €50
- The Eilish McBride Award — English, Local* — sponsored by Edel MacBride — Winning Poem €100
- Irish, Local* — Winning Poem €100
- Ulster-Scots, Local* — Winning Poem €100
*'Local' means born in and/or currently living in the Lifford-Stranorlar Municipal District. Get in touch if you're not sure whether you qualify — we're not sticklers, but we do like to get it right.
How to enter
Head to our Poetry Competition page for the full instructions — online, by email, or by good old-fashioned post. Just remember: no names on the poems themselves. Our judges read blind, so let the words do the talking.
If you've any questions not answered on the website, drop us a line at info@francesbrowneliteraryfestival.com and we'll be glad to help.
Now — what are you waiting for? Frances didn't let a small thing like blindness stop her writing. The least we can do is finish the poem that's been sitting in the drawer.
Le meas / Kind regards,
The Frances Browne Literary Festival Committee
