Fighting Words and the FAI invited a group of young football enthusiasts from Scoil Phádraig Naofa, Kilcurry in autumn 2021 to hone their skills as sports journalists.
The class met with journalist David Kelly of the Irish Independent in the lead up to the Ireland v Sweden match and then chatted to stars of the Ireland team Amber Barrett and Kyra Carusa over Zoom in advance of the game to test out their interviewing technique.
An Nollaig seo, ba mhaith le Fighting Words agus le Graffiti Theatre Company cuireadh a thabhairt do scríbhneoirí óga idir 6 agus 12 bliain d’aois a scéal Nollag féin a scríobh! Cuir do shamhlaíocht ag obair agus cum scéal nua don Nollaig!
Cum Scéal Nollag le Cabhair ónar gCairde
D’iarr muid ar ár gcairde tús a chur leis na scéalta ionas go mbeadh cabhair agaibhse agus sibh ag tosú - cliceáil ar na naisc thíos le breathnú ar thús na scéalta agus beidh tú féin in ann críoch a chur leo.
Tá dhá scéal déag ann ar fad- cliceáil ar na naisc le héisteacht leis na húdair agus na haisteoirí as chuile chearn den tír as Béarla agus as Gaeilge!
Watch the video and finish the story!
This festive season, Fighting Words and Graffiti TheatreCompany are once again inviting young writers between the ages of 6 and 12 years to write your own Christmas story. Fire up your imagination with Christmas sparkles and create a new classic tale.
Create a Christmas Story with Some Help from Our Friends!
To help you get started, we have asked some of our friends to craft story prompts - it's the start of a new story that you can finish yourself.
There are twelve stories in all - click on the links to hear stories by authors and performers from all over the island of Ireland in English and in Irish!
As part of their course in picture book translation and illustration, students in the Department of Applied Foreign Languages are translating, illustrating and animating stories about animals created by children for the Fighting Words project What Lives In Your Imagination?
Course lecturer Ping-Shi Kao volunteered as an illustrator at Fighting Words in Dublin when she was studying for her master's degree at Trinity College Dublin in 2016-2017.
Fighting Words, in partnership with the GAA Museum, is thrilled to announce the publication of Close to Croke Park.
The book is the culmination of a year-long project which began as part of the GAA Museum's programme of events to mark the 100th anniversary of Bloody Sunday on 21 November 2020.
Over the past year, a group of residents from the local areas surrounding Croke Park have come together to discuss Bloody Sunday as well as their memories of the stadium. With the help of Fighting Words volunteer mentors, their stories have been written down and brought to life in this new book.
Táimid ag glacadh le hiarratais as Béarla agus as Gaeilge.
Every year, Fighting Words publishes a magazine of exciting new writing by young people from all over Ireland with The Irish Times.
We are delighted to announce that we are now inviting submissions from secondary school students to be included in The Irish Times supplement in 2022.
Please submit pieces, notify your nearest teenager or generally get excited about it! Whichever applies to YOU.
Táimid ag glacadh le hiarratais as Béarla agus as Gaeilge.
Young Playwrights Winter Workshops 2021/22 (online)
The objectives of these workshops are to introduce young writers to the art, craft and mechanics of playwriting. To open up the world of theatre to them. In each workshop, we will explore the art-form with a focus on character building, scene-work, dialogue, improvisations, live writing and observation exercises and stagecraft. We will set provocations during each workshop for the writers to complete in between the workshops. There will be special guests such as actors, writers, playwrights, designers and directors. We hope to develop the young writers' individual voices. Above all we hope to have a very enjoyable, playful and uplifting series of workshops on playwriting and the joy of theatre!!
Fighting Words at the Dublin Book Festival 2021, Saturday, 13 November, 10.30am to 12.30pm
BOOKED OUT
Join the Fighting Words team for a fun and interactive workshop! In the first half, we will create characters and start a story together. In the second half, you can use your imagination to finish the story yourself!
At the end of the workshop, we will publish the story on the Fighting Words website. Places are limited and booking is required.
As part of First Fortnight, the annual festival that raises awareness about mental health, challenges prejudice and works to end stigma, Fighting Words is hosting a workshop for young writers aged 13 - 16 years on Saturday, January 16th!
Who Am I? Who Are We? Songwriting at Fighting Words
Where: In person, hosted by Fighting Words at Behan Square, 12-16 Russell Street, Dublin , D01 WD53
When: Saturday, 15 January 2022
Time: 11am to 1.00pm
Age Range: 13 to 16 years
Cost: FREE
This Halloween, we invite young writers to use our template to create a story and colour it in!
Use your imagination to make a scary story, a silly story or anything in between!
Upload your story to a parent/guardian social media account be sure to tag us on social media:
Fighting Words is delighted to be part of the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival, hosted by Smashing Times and Front Line Defenders.
Songs and music have played a powerful role in human rights movements, giving a universal voice, crossing barriers and promoting unity and equality.
At these three workshops we will look at the history of these songs, and draw on these themes to create our own songs relevant for today's generation.
In 2020, Dr Irene White of the Institute of Education at Dublin City University, published further research on the Fighting Words creative writing model as part of her PhD thesis.
The research finds that Fighting Words empowers children to learn creatively, with a multitude of positive impacts on wellbeing including the amplification of the teenage voice, as well as improving their efficacy, confidence, esteem and resilience.
It concludes that the Fighting Words model contributes additional, significant knowledge to three key dimensions of creativity, fostering climate(s) for creativity, processes for ‘being creative’ and enabling beneficial outcomes.
On Friday, 23 July 2021, thanks to the great people at Creative Ireland, An Taoiseach paid a visit to our friends and partners at Graffiti Theatre Company - the home of Fighting Words in Cork - to see a Fighting Words workshop in action.
The former teacher turned student for the afternoon, the Taoiseach sat in on a creative writing workshop with members of Graffiti's Activate Juniors group, facilitated by the workshop super-team of Kel, Fiona and Marie illustrating via Zoom, developing characters and creating their own stories.
Premiering on YouTube - Tuesday, 20 July 2021 at 7.30pm for one week only!
Click here to watch on the Abbey Theatre YouTube channel
The story so far . . .
Introducing Story Seeds: Springtime In The North Inner City
A collection of six stories by primary school students from the northside of Dublin
In January 2021, Sgt. Aoife Reilly of the Mountjoy Garda Community Engagement Unit approached Fighting Words with the idea of collaborating on a creative project for primary school students on the northside of Dublin.
Following meetings with Fighting Words staff, the Story Seeds project was born: new stories to celebrate the areas where we all live, work and play. The idea was that the first school would write the first chapter of a story, the next class would write the second chapter and so on.
Tá áthas orainn ag Fighting Words Chonamara a bheith ag obair le hÁras Éanna ar thogra speisialta do Chruinniú na nÓg 2021. Tá Áras Éanna 21 bliain ar an bhfód i mbliana agus mar chuid den cheiliúradh beidh muid ag obair le daltaí as Scoil Náisiúnta Chaomháin, Inis Oirr.
Ar an Mháirt, 1 Meitheamh, beidh na daltaí ag cruthú scéalta bunaithe ar an oileán le foireann Fighting Words. Beidh an dara ceardlann acu ansin, áit a mbeidh siad ag obair le stiúrthóir ealaíne Áras Éanna, an t-ealaíontóir Dara McGee, chun íomhánna a chruthú bunaithe ar a gcuid scéalta nua-scríofa.
Registrations Are Now Closed.
Parents will be advised of places by Monday, 21 June
Schedule and Information for Parents
We are delighted to announce the schedule of FREE summer camps at Fighting Words for 2021!
Camps this year will be offered to two age groups: 11-13 years and 14-17 years. All camps run from Monday to Thursday, 10am to 3pm and are completely free of charge. Our camps are highly participatory and a lot of fun. Come explore your creativity with us this summer!
What was life like for children and young people on the island of Ireland a hundred years ago?
The focus of the project is on the social and cultural aspects of children’s lives over a century, and how they compare to life now.
The Fighting Words 100 Years Creative Writing Project will see participating primary and secondary schools from across the island partake in joint workshops, where stories and ideas can be shared. The project will be delivered in Irish and English, and will see children and young people from a variety of backgrounds encouraged to bring their own rich and diverse histories, stories and cultural traditions to this initiative.
Launched on Tuesday, 18th May 2021
During this tough year a remarkable group of young authors from Colaiste Mhuire, Cabra, came together once a week to create, invent and write. Joined online and supported remotely by Fighting Words mentors they tirelessly worked on their pieces and pulled together a fantastic, inspiring collection.
The anthology was launched onTuesday, 18 May 2021 by Sheila O'Flanagan who also wrote the foreword.
From the foreword:
Please be advised that no one is authorised to raise funds for Fighting Words on the street anywhere in Ireland.
Fighting Words has been contacted regarding a purported on-street fundraiser operating in Dublin.
Please be advised that no one is authorised to raise funds for Fighting Words on the street anywhere in Ireland.
We are grateful to everyone who has contacted us about this matter and for the support of the community.
We ask anyone affected by this fraudulent fundraiser to DM us as soon as possible to assist in the Garda investigation. Thank you. #writetoright
Now available - the 2021 edition of Fighting Words - Young Irish Writing in The Irish Times!
The 2021 supplement features 40 pages of brilliant stories and poems by young authors from all over the island of Ireland and beyond, in English and in Irish, with an introduction by Alan Gilsenan.
Get your copy and get inspired!
In recent weeks, Fighting Words has livestreamed plays by 17 young playwrights from around Ireland on Zoom.
Fighting Words is committed to the development of young playwrights in collaboration with theatres across the island of Ireland.
Young Playwrights 2020-2021
This year's Fighting Words Young Playwrights Programme was delivered online between November 2020 and March 2021. The six workshops culminated in the performance of ten wonderful new short plays by young playwrights from across the island.
In January 2021, we invited writers age 7-12 to tell us a story about an animal or creature - real or imagined. We received over 120 stories, poems and illustrations!
In this celebration of creativity, ALL the stories from young writers all over the island of Ireland are published here, organised by age.
I mí Eanáir 2021, thug muid cuireadh do scríbhneoirí aois 7-12 bliain scéal faoi ainmhí a insint dúinn- fíor-ainmhí nó ainmhí samhailteach. Fuair muid os cionn 120 scéal, dán agus léaráid!
Sa gceiliúradh seo ar an gcruthaitheacht, tá na scéalta AR FAD ó scríbhneoirí óga na tíre foilsithe anseo againn, eagraithe de réir aois
If you are interested in working with children and/or the creative arts, a Transition Year work experience placement is a great learning opportunity and a lot of fun!
Places available in Dublin and Wicklow centres only on a first come first serve basis
All placements subject to Government public health advice at the time of placements
All students over age 16 are legally required to be Garda vetted by their school
For full details and to apply, click here!
In January 2021, Fighting Words invited writers aged 12 to 212 to explore the world around them and share their creative responses with us.
The response was tremendous and we are delighted to share it here.
Based on the 5km limit that people in the Republic were living with as part of the Government's Level 5 restrictions due to Covid-19, writers interpreted 5x5 as:
I mí Eanáir 2021, d'iarr Fighting Words ar scríbhneoirí ó 12 go 212 bliain d'aois fáil amach faoi domhan mórthimpeall orthu agus a gcuid smaointí agus freagairtí cruthaitheacha a roinnt linn.
D'éirigh thar cionn leis an togra agus tá an-ríméad orainn é a roinnt libh anseo.
Mar chuid de shrianta Leibhéal 5 an Rialtais de bharr Covid-19, ní raibh cead ag daoine i bPoblacht na hÉireann dul taobh amuigh de theorainn 5km ó bhaile. Bhí bealaí éagsúla ag scríbhneoirí ciall a bhaint as 5x5:
Teachers! Are you interested in booking a FREE creative writing workshop for your primary or secondary school group? Bookings for 2021/2022 are now open.
Fighting Words workshops are highly interactive, incredibly creative and fun. We help children to find their voices and tell their stories.
DCU's Neurodivergent Society Creative Collection
For eighteen months, Fighting Words mentors have worked with writers from the DCU Neurodivergent Society, engaging with them online at regular writing sessions.
We are delighted to launch a collection of their work: The Art of Divergence - DCU's Neurodivergent Society Creative Collection.
The launch event on 25 March 2021 is the presentation of work created with the Neurodivergent Society as part of DCU’s autism friendly initiative.
The Fighting Words Clare team was delighted to be part of Clare County Library Teen Week 2021, in collaboration with Ennis Book Club Festival! Fighting Words co-founder Roddy Doyle facilitated a creative writing workshop with Transition Year students from Scoil Mhuire Secondary School, Ennistymon.
