Poetry Ireland and British Council Ireland are delighted to announce Alvy Carragher (Ireland) and Ali Choudhary (UK) as winners of the Eavan Boland Award 2025
Founded in 2021 to honour Eavan Boland’s legacy, the award supports poets through mentorship and cross-border residencies. Eavan Boland championed diversity and new voices, stating that ‘the margin re-defines the centre.’ This award reflects her vision for a vibrant, inclusive poetry community.
The Eavan Boland Award 2025 invited early-career poets based in the UK and mid-career poets based in Ireland to apply for the bursary in addition to a residency at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Manchester as well as further development opportunities in 2026, all of which comprise the award.
Supported by Poetry Ireland, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), the University of Manchester and British Council Ireland, this biennial award celebrates creativity, connection and cross-border exchange in poetry.
Ali Choudhary is a writer, poet and multi-disciplinary artist exploring the poetics of violence and intimacy. He is an Emerging Creative Associate at New Writing North for 2025 and was shortlisted for the Tempest Prize. His poetry appears in or is forthcoming from Diode Poetry Journal, Protean Magazine, Sontag Mag and Frontier Poetry, among others, and his limited-edition chapbook, NIGHT OF THE FIRE, was published by Ethel Zine & Micro Press in May 2025. Ali will be based at the TCD School of English for two weeks in November 2025. During that time, he will engage with the School of English, read his work and explore other creative programmes at the University. He will also enjoy additional mentoring and opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration in 2026.
Alvy Carragher is based in Dublin. She grew up in Galway and Tipperary and has since lived in Louisiana, Dublin, South Korea and Canada. She has published three books of poetry: What Remains the Same (The Gallery Press), which was shortlisted for the Farmgate National Poetry Award in 2025, The Men I Keep Under My Bed (Salmon Poetry) and Falling in Love with Broken Things (Salmon Poetry). Her poetry has been archived by the National Poetry Archive and she has received the support of the Arts Council’s Literature Bursary Award (2022 and 2024). Alvy will spend two weeks in October as a resident at the University of Manchester Centre for New Writing. She will take part in seminars and workshops at the Centre for New Writing and will have access to the John Rylands Library, where Eavan Boland’s Archive is located. She will also engage with Carcanet Press while in Manchester.
Selectors of this year’s Eavan Boland awardees were Professor John McAuliffe (Manchester) and Dr Rachael Hegarty (Dublin).
Read the full press release on Poetry Ireland’s website.