by Catriona Tierney/ After Dark
THE final of this year’s Bring Your Limericks to Limerick international competition took place on Saturday 17 upstairs in Dolan’s. Now in its seventh year the competition, organised by Limerick Writers’ Centre, celebrates one of the most famous forms of verse while recognising that Limerick is one of the few places in the world that gives its name to a literary form.
The event attracted 400 entries from all over the world and ultimately, 25 competitors took part in performing live for the international audience. Limerick actor and writer Myles Breen was charismatic in his role as MC entertaining the crowd with his usual wit, then group vocal exercises and an impromptu Limericks challenge during the interval.
Judges for the event were Kieran Beville, author; Dr Matthew Potter, historian and author of ‘The Curious Story of the Limerick’, and our own Rose Rushe. arts editor with Limerick Post.
The winner this year was New York born/ Dublin native Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, an academic and published writer living in Limerick, Winning by just 0.45 points, Sarah’s impish performance saw her walk away €500. 1st runner up with €50 reward was Clare Dollar and 2nd with €50, Patrick McNamara. Sarah’s five-line triumph reads:
While I fancy myself as a bard
Reciting a Limerick is hard
This poem’s a mouthful
My talent so doubtful
That I fear I’ll be mentally scarred
Director of Limerick Writers’ Centre, Dominic Taylor and festival director Lisa Neville give special thanks to Dolan’s for hosting and to Limerick Arts Office and O’Mahony’s Book Sellers for support.
It is the Centre’s fervent wish that they could develop a Fáilte Ireland backed platform for this popular annual competition promoting Limerick and our literary-gaelic tradition.
