More than 650 people entered this year’s Irish Times Travel Writer competition, and our judging panel has spent the past number of weeks reading those entries, which gave a fascinating insight into adventures, mishaps and life-changing holidays and journeys in Ireland and around the globe.
Today we publish the 10 travel articles that have made it on to the shortlist. Congratulations to everyone who has made it this far.
One of these articles below will win our prize, which includes a trip abroad with Travel Department to cover a travel story for The Irish Times and subsequent publication in The Irish Times Magazine.
The shortlist is (click on each name to read the story):
[ Neil Blackbyrne on a Mongolian adventureOpens in new window ]
[ Lisa Mullee’s journey across La Guajira Peninsula, ColombiaOpens in new window ]
[ Blathnaid De Roiste’s emotional trip to IranOpens in new window ]
[ Annie Lowney on a bizarre trip to Beaver IslandOpens in new window ]
[ Shannon Kelly’s memorable Romanian train journeyOpens in new window ]
[ John Poole’s use of literature to spice up his travelsOpens in new window ]
[ Conall Scollard’s adventures in La PazOpens in new window ]
[ Tara Povey’s exhilarating night in RioOpens in new window ]
[ Shane Kenneally on a realisation in AuschwitzOpens in new window ]
[ Louise Nealon on family trips to Inis OírrOpens in new window ]
The winner will be announced this Saturday, October 29th, on irishtimes.com/travelwriter and also in The Irish Times Magazine
This year’s judging panel included Irish Times editors and journalists Orna Mulcahy, Brian Kilmartin, Leonie Corcoran, Joan Scales, Rosita Boland and Rachel Collins, and Travel Department marketing director Fergal O’Brien.
The judging process: All articles were judged blind, meaning there was no identification of the author on the article read by the judging panel. Each was judged on its story merits alone, with writing style, language, pace and storytelling technique marking one story out from another.
