Introducing our 2026 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature Winner, Nicole Flattery. for her novel, Show Them A Good Time.
The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature is awarded to Nicole Flattery for her acclaimed short story collection, 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆.
With its sharp wit, dark humor, and distinctive voice, Show Them a Good Time introduced readers to a writer of remarkable originality. Across eight stories, Flattery explores loneliness, ambition, intimacy, and the strange absurdities of modern life with prose that is at once funny, unsettling, and deeply observant.
Nicole Flattery has been announced as the recipient of the 2026 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. She was presented with the award at a gala dinner in Trinity College Dublin attended by guests from the world of Irish literature, including 21 previous winners of the prize.
Established in 1976, the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature celebrates an outstanding body of work by an emerging Irish writer under the age of 40. To mark its 50th anniversary, the value of the annual prize has this year been doubled from €10,000 to €20,000 as announced by Benefactor and Custodian of the prize, Dr Peter Rooney.
50 Years of Celebrating
Irish Literature
About The Rooney Prize
The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature is for an outstanding body of work by an emerging Irish writer under forty years of age. The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature is valued at €10,000. The prize has been awarded annually since 1976, through the generosity of the late Dr Daniel Rooney, and of his wife Patricia. (Dr Rooney served as Ambassador of the United States of America to Ireland.) The Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre is deeply honoured that Dr Peter Rooney, their nephew, is the new benefactor of the Rooney Prize, continuing the Rooney family’s long association with Irish Literature and support for ‘the longest-established literary prize’. Since 1976 the prize has achieved renown as one of the most distinguished of Irish literary awards.
Rooney Writer Fellowship
Making a Difference in the Lives of Others
The Fellowship will enable a creative writer to join the research community in the Hub and to engage with the institute’s many research projects and initiatives. The inaugural Fellow is Caitríona Lally, who began her position in January 2022.