RTÉ Short Story Competition

James Langley Was in Love with Sean Harris by Stephanie O'Connor, read by Peter Hanly To read - and find out more about this and all the other stories in this year's competition - go to RTÉ Culture See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Co-operative by Cathy Shah, read by Kathy Rose O’Brien To read - and find out more about this and all the other stories in this year's competition - go to RTÉ Culture See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Discover: Nature by Alicia McAuley, read by Joe Nawaz To read - and find out more about this and all the other stories in this year's competition - go to RTÉ Culture See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inertia by John Armstrong, read by Andrew Bennett To read - and find out more about this and all the other stories in this year's competition - go to RTÉ Culture See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Fork In The Road by Paul Edmondson, read by Catherine Walsh To read - and find out more about this and all the other stories in this year's competition - go to RTÉ Culture See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Na Rúisigh by Rónán Mac Con Iomaire, read by Diarmuid de Faoite To read - and find out more about this and all the other stories in this year's competition - go to RTÉ Culture See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Light From Other Places by Kartikay Gupta, read by Florence Adebambo To read - and find out more about this and all the other stories in this year's competition - go to RTÉ Culture See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bubble by Jamie Samson, read by Rory Nolan To read - and find out more about this and all the other stories in this year's competition - go to RTÉ Culture See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cottage Pie, by Alison Jameson, read by Elaine O'Dwyer. To read - and find out more about this and all the other stories in this year's competition - go to RTÉ Culture See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Like Clean Windows Kill the Birds, by John O'Donovan, read by Garrett Lombard. To read - and find out more about this and all the other stories in this year's competition - go to RTÉ Culture See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auntie and Anto and Ivy and Ava by Ian Feighery, read by Ebby O'Toole-Acheampong To read, and find out more about, this story go to RTÉ Culture at https://www.rte.ie/culture/2025/1011/1537452-rte-short-story-competition-auntie-and-anto-and-ivy-and-ava/

Pool Story by Jill Kenny, read by Naoise Dunbar (pic credit: Eve North) To read, and find out more about, this story go to RTÉ Culture at https://www.rte.ie/culture/2025/1011/1537451-rte-short-story-competition-pool-story-by-jill-kenny/

A Spectrum of Sorrow by Angela Finn, read by Janet Moran To read, and find out more about, this story go to RTÉ Culture at https://www.rte.ie/culture/2025/1011/1537448-rte-short-story-competition-a-spectrum-of-sorrow-by-angela-finn/

RTÉ Culture: Kazakhstan by Kevin McDermott, read by John Olohan To read, and find out more about, this story go to RTÉ Culture at https://www.rte.ie/culture/2025/1011/1537445-rte-short-story-competition-kazakhstan-by-kevin-mcdermott/

Labels by Mary O'Rourke, read by Clare Barrett To read, and find out more about, this story go to RTÉ Culture at https://www.rte.ie/culture/2025/1011/1537444-rte-short-story-competition-labels-by-mary-orourke/

Corrán na Maidine by Niall Ó Siadhail, read by Brídín Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh To read, and find out more about, this story go to RTÉ Culture at https://www.rte.ie/culture/2025/1011/1537441-short-story-competition-corran-na-maidine-by-niall-o-siadhail/

Wolves by Peter McCauley, read by Paul Mallon To read, and find out more about, this story go to RTÉ Culture at https://www.rte.ie/culture/2025/1011/1537439-rte-short-story-competition-wolves-by-peter-mccauley/

Feeding Time by Sinéad Troy, read by Andrew Bennett To read, and find out more about, this story go to RTÉ Culture at https://www.rte.ie/culture/2025/1011/1537435-rte-short-story-competition-feeding-time-by-sinead-troy/

It Must Have Come First by Sage Omar, read by Marty Breen (pic credit: Jie Gao)

Witness by Lynda McCarthy, read by Eileen Walsh

Divination, by Stephen O'Reilly, read by Andrew Bennett

Artifice, by Sharon Guard, read by Ali White

Turncoat, by David Ralph, read by Tadhg Murphy

Dessie and Hopper, by Susanne Stich, read by Ruth McGill

Chambermaid, by Fiona O'Connor, read by Janet Moran

The Other Órla, by Emer O'Toole, read by Elaine O'Dwyer

Once Upon an Algorithm, by Ryan Delaney, read by Peter Hanly

The Rehearsal, by Alexis MacIsaac, ready by Tierra Porter

Dead Bait, by Mattie Brennan, read by Aaron Monaghan

Planning the Leftovers, by Sheila Barrett, read by Bríd Ní Neachtain

From the 2023 shortlist, read by Elaine O'Dwyer, in the words of the judges "a well-crafted, affecting tale...a lovely, gentle portrait of teenagerdom as the summer holidays start"

From the 2023 shortlist, read by Emmet Farrell, in the words of the judges “a beautiful, exhilarating, and deeply touching story about an easily-led, bird-loving young fellow’s trip to the dark side”

From the 2023 shortlist, read by David Pearse, in the words of the judges a “darkly funny, relentless and surprising tale around a father and son’s increasingly manic search for a lost greyhound”

From the 2023 shortlist, read by Camille Lucy Ross, in the words of the judges “a really funny, really timely, comic symphony around cyber love”

From the 2023 shortlist, read by Kathy Rose O'Brien, in the words of the judges “a smart, considered, lively vision of manipulation, revenge and gloriously twisted love”

From the 2023 shortlist, read by Aaron Monaghan, in the words of the judges an “extraordinary feat of imagination,” and “an original and funny fantasy with a lake as the protagonist”

From the 2023 shortlist, read by Marty Rea, in the words of the judges “a breath-taking, captivating and authentic immersion into a teenage boy’s involvement in a street protest”

From the 2023 shortlist, read by Rory Nolan, in the words of the judges “funny and sad and thoroughly engrossing; a triumph of atmosphere”

From the 2023 shortlist, read by Janet Moran, in the words of the judges “a captivating, poignant tale of a young woman dealing with the loss of her eccentric mother”

From the 2023 shortlist, read by Andrew Bennett, in the words of the judges "a beguiling and subtly-observed portrait of hope, resignation and resilience"

A story encompassing the intimacy and vulnerability of motherhood, and a mother's love for her son

A teenage girl, driving to the south of France with squabbling parents and the family dog

A father and son holidaying in Madrid overhear a couple in a museum discussing the merits of a particular masterpiece

A deserted house, an unlikely friendship and a small-town Ireland we can all recognise

Inspired by an ancient landscape, this is a story of coming to terms with grief and a changing relationship between father and son

A playful and surreal send-up of the fairy and folk tales we all know so well

The conflicting emotions that arise from a family member's death from a drug overdose

A coming-of-age tale of a mother/daughter relationship, this is a story that grew out of the writer's experiences working with young people during the pandemic. She says "in a world of constantly evolving risks it really highlighted for me the need for us all to keep talking"

In this story, a young man thinks he is Christ, a character ready to disrupt a familiar time and place

In a story about memory and loss, the narrator clears out her dead parents' house and when the job is done she comes across a fixture in the house that hides a family secret she cannot cast off. (photo by: Bríd O'Donovan)