Category: Be Inspired Awards

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PODCASTS & PHOTOS OF PROMETHEANS’ WEBSITE LAUNCH

Photographs by Ms Wolfe and Paddy O’Halloran

Prometheans’ Website Launch -Opening Address By Principal Mr O’Brien

Mr. Collins -Background

Gerald O’Donovan on The Prometheans’ Initiatives

Olan Corcoran on the Various Artforms

THE MAIN EVENT -Talk and Q&A with Dominic MacHale and Shaun O’Connor

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Be Inspired Awards 2019 -Winners

Be Inspired Awards 2019 –Winners

ALL OF THE JUDGES COMMENTED ON HOW EXTREMELY DIFFICULT IT WAS TO PICK A WINNER IN EACH CATEGORY, SUCH WAS THE HIGH STANDARD.

Well done everyone!

  Senior – Photography Paddy O’Halloran 4th Year   “Really interesting capture of a foreign scene. The architecture creates an unusual frame and draws the eye in to the figures at the centre of the composition. Great work.”   –Photographer and Film Director Shaun O’Connor   Junior – Photography Jack Cullen 3rd Year   “Great use of horizontal lines, drawing the eye in. The contrast from the left to right is striking too. Super composition and super work.”   – Photographer and Film Director Shaun O’Connor
  Senior – Art Tadgh Twomey  5th Year   “Highly impressive, imaginative composition is sustained throughout this wonderful children’s storybook creation. The endearing story is depicted in a way that is instantly attractive with its accomplished colour choice, style, perspective and technique.”   –Artist Una Collins   Junior – Art Yuzhe Chen 1st Year   “Amazing execution of this depiction of the comic-strip hero. Phenomenal attention to detail. The skilled brush-strokes, tone, shading and scale give this painting an immediate an impressive impact. Fantastic.”   –Artist Úna Collins
  Senior – Music Paddy O’Halloran 4th Year   “A very complex and interesting piece to uptake, which displayed considerable technique and independence. Rhythmically smooth, the phrasing kept my attention and made for an enjoyable listen. The feel was very authentic and really captured the jazz spirit while at the same time putting your own stamp on the piece. Very well done.”   James Downing from The Shruggs   Junior – Music Adrian Toma 2nd Year   “Don’t Lie (electronica) is a pleasant onslaught right from beat one, great use of L/R fading and the drop was lovely too. It was never boring and hard to keep still while listening. Catchy hooks, might well be a club classic one day in the future, overall excellent programming.”     James Downing from The Shruggs
  Senior – Poetry & Lyrics Aodh Ó Gallchóir 6th Year   “This piece could easily be inside an anthology of poems –and by acclaimed and recognised poets. Brilliant”   –Poet Brian O’Driscoll   Junior – Poetry & Lyrics James Connolly 1st Year   “Economical and succinct, it’s a typical, recognisable story of a school morning and the poem has great rhythm.”   –Poet Brian O’Driscoll
  Senior – Writing Gerald O’Donovan 6th Year   “Gerald’s writing is exceptional. His evocation of time and place with simply stunning prose is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s border trilogy. The authenticity and immediacy of character and situation is of the highest order, like that of Hilary Mantel say, or Denis Johnson. Amazing talent.”     -Author Ciarán Collins   Junior – Writing Tom Cullen 2nd Year   “Ever popular with younger writers, fantasy is the most prominent genre in the junior entries again this year. Tom is at home in the genre and coupled with his vivid imagination, it made for a thoroughly enjoyable and mysterious work. His skilled use of language to create spectacular imagery is salient in this memorable piece.”   -Author Ciarán Collins
 
  Senior –Book Review Mark Henchion 4th Year “Mature, economical and well-judged, this review has everything you want from a good book review. Never overstated, it is fit for publication anywhere. The use of comparable novels reflects the writer’s knowledge of both literature and the craft of the book review.”   -Author Ciarán Collins   Junior –Book Review Daniel O’Mahony 3rd Year “The writer’s love for the book is infectious in this accomplished review, but it was the highly impressive use of language that was most striking. The literary prowess of the writer of the review is a sure way of instilling confidence in the reader for the recommendation of the novel. Impressive stuff.”   -Author Ciarán Collins  

Be Inspired Awards 2019 -The Judges

PHOTOGRAPHY: Shaun O’Connor is an awarding-winning photographer and film director, whose exhibitions and films have had huge success at home and abroad. www.shaunoconnor.com

POETRY: Brian O’Driscoll is a poet, spoken word performer, writer and wordsmith who has appeared at many literary festivals and has had his work published broadly, including the magazine Headspace and Dimezine. www.poetart.com

ART: Úna Collins is a very successful Innishannon-based artist who trained in Mallow College of Art and Design and the Crawford. She has held several exhibitions of her work in Cork and has been invited to show work in various galleries around the country. www.unacollinsartist.com

MUSIC: James Downing is a member of the well-known band The Shruggs, a folk/pop musical duo fast becoming a force to be reckoned with on the Irish music scene.  www.theshruggs.wixsite.com/theshruggs 

WRITING: Ciarán Collins is mainly known for his award-winning novel The Gamal which was published by Bloombury (2013) and his play Primal which premiered in Cork Arts Theatre in 2019. www.ciarancollinsauthor.com 

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Junior Writing Award -Be Inspired Awards 2018

Dara Ryan 1st Year

The Magician

The boy looked out the window and there he was, just walking down the street –the magician. He had known the magician was there before he looked out the window; he had sensed him. But as he gazed, he realised how absolute the power of his being was. He could calm storms, feed every person on the planet with a click of his fingers. He could cure any disease, heal any wound, give sight to the blind, even reverse death.

But for all the good he could do, he could also do evil. He could summon a storm strong enough to rip through any house, any building. He could kill you with a look, break your arm from the other side of the world, melt your brain and break your mind without lifting a finger. He could rip the sky asunder and summon the legions of hell to lay waste to the Earth.

Suddenly the magician snapped his head around and saw the boy. He smiled, though it was a smile that was devoid of warmth, or any kind of emotion. He turned and began to walk towards the boy, up the staircase that had once been a garden. Because the world reshaped itself, liquefied and solidified itself to his need, his every wish. For a being of such great power deserved such respect, such obedience because he was a living god, and he graced them with his very presence.

Andthe magician walked through the arch that had once been a window, held out hishand and offered the boy infinite power. And the boy thought of feeding thepoor, calming storms, healing all plagued by illness, of bringing back hisparents. He reached out to take the magician’s hand, but in doing so herealised that it was a white as chalk. He looked up and saw dead eyes and asmile that showed no semblance of emotion. He thought of creating storms,killing without thought, effort or consequence. He thought of summoning thelegions of hell to destroy all he held dear. And he withdrew his hand andrefused the magician’s gift. The magician’s face clouded over and the howled infury. And then he and the boy vanished, never to be seen again.

“Dara’s use of language in highly impressive in this unusual, fascinating, surreal encounter between a boy and an all-powerful magician. It is also an interesting exploration of the corrupting influence of power. A very original and well-executed piece.

-Author Ciarán Collins