Ferdia Lennon wins 2025 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature

In a ceremony tonight at Trinity College Dublin, Ferdia Lennon will be awarded the 2025 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature for his novel Glorious Exploits. 

The €10,000 Rooney Prize celebrates an outstanding body of work by an emerging Irish writer under 40 years of age. It is administered by the Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre for Creative Writing in the School of English, Trinity, and has been awarded annually since 1976 to a distinguished group of writers whose names you can read here.

Lennon said: “These days, when I get a call from an unknown number, it is almost always someone trying to persuade me to switch internet provider. So when I received a call this summer and the caller turned out to be Jonathan Williams, patiently explaining that I had in fact won the Rooney Prize for Literature, I was at first incredulous and then simply overjoyed.

As an Irish writer, I have been aware of the Rooney Prize for years, and though there was a part of me that secretly dreamed I might one day win, that my name might sit alongside that distinguished list of Rooney winners who have inspired me, actually winning was both a great surprise and a deep honour.

“The importance of literary prizes to writers cannot be overstated. They bring attention to our work and, in this instance, thanks to the generosity of Peter Rooney and the Rooney family, provide invaluable financial support too. In my case, as I move from Glorious Exploits’ war-torn ancient Greek Sicily to the more cheery subject of the Black Death in 14th-century France, winning the Rooney Prize will be of immense practical help, granting me that most wonderful gift of uninterrupted time to finish my second novel.”

Benefactor Dr Peter Rooney said: “Glorious Exploits is a witty and humorous reimagining of the Greek Epic. The novel both educates and entertains the reader, exploring notions of narrative structure, history and the art of storytelling itself. It juxtaposes the horrors of warfare with the interpersonal relationship of its two primary characters, demonstrating the importance of loyalty and friendship during dark times. Glorious Exploits is not only a timely read for the world we find ourselves in today, but it is also a vital read... it is vital because it gives us hope, hope that there will always be light when you have love.”