"The written word has always held a deep fascination for me. My urge to write was enhanced when I came to live in Ballyshannon and joined the Allingham Arts Society there. I was its chairman for about twelve12 years. Each year the society runs a literary competition, and through these I met a number of adjudicators who were themselves established writers. I attended all their weekend workshops.

"A number of my short stories have won awards. I've just completed my first novel, which I'm hoping to get published, and in the meantime I've begun my second.

"Writing schools, workshops and writer-in-residence projects are of great value to any aspiring writer. They motivate, broaden the perspective, help to improve writing and communication skills, and psychologically they can be very beneficial. Without their influence, I doubt I would ever have reached this level of progress in my writing.