A DONEGAL man has been awarded for his creative writing at a national competition.
Chris McGrillen from Portnoo has been selected as the third-place winner of the 2026 All Ireland Scholars Creative Writing Competition in the Prose Category for his written piece, A Half Decent Bottle of Wine.
Sponsored by JP McManus, the competition, now in its sixth year, is open to recipients of the All Ireland Scholarship, from 2008 to present. This year’s competition focused on the short form written word (max 600 words) with prose and poetry categories with entrants asked to focus on short-form fiction, non-fiction, and op-ed.
This year’s stellar judging panel included Paul Lynch (Booker Prize Winner 2023), Donal Ryan (Orwell Prize Winner 2025), and Dr Emily Cullen. The judging process was chaired by Professor Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, Head of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.
Chris received the All Ireland Scholarship in 2009 and went on to study Computer Science at Queen’s University Belfast, graduating in 2012. Chris now works for a major life sciences organisation, leading their strategy for applying technology to accelerate and improve the drug development process.
Chris has always loved to write, but for the first decade of his career he didn’t feel he had the time. Now he is writing more, hoping to eventually publish a fantasy novel. This year, Chris was selected for the London Writers’ Award, a competitive development programme for emerging writers.
The judges were impressed by his submission, saying: “The story is economical yet evocative and opens the reader to reflections on life and death, the rituals of public grief, and how quickly the living move on.”
Commenting on the competition, Sponsor JP McManus said: “I am delighted to be here today to honour the winners of this year’s All Ireland Scholars Creative Writing Competition. With over 2,050 All Ireland Scholars across the island of Ireland, their written work is yet another reminder of the creativity, insight, and imagination they bring to the table.
“We take great pride in following our scholars after they finish university. Congratulations to all of our winners here today and many thanks to the judges for sharing their time and valuable expertise.”
A Half Decent Bottle of Wine can be read on the All Ireland Scholars website with all the winners.
