The ‘Always Proud’ queer poetry competition will consist of two age categories; 13-18yo and 18+. All entrants will be asked to submit pieces under the theme of ‘Always Proud’. There is a €5 charge per entry. The competition will be launched and submissions can be made from April 22 to: info@longfordpride.ie. A payment link will be provided once a submission has been made. As part of the event, and to support writers, an online poetry workshop will be held on April 30, from 7-8.30pm, facilitated by published poet Hayley Fox-Roberts. The closing date for submissions is May 31, to allow time for shortlisting and selection. Winners will be announced on June 3, with members of the public invited to hear them read their pieces. This will be followed by a short reading by acclaimed queer poet Hayley Fox-Roberts. WATCH | An explosion of pride, colour and samba beats at Longford's first ever Pride Parade Inner Pride art exhibition Longford Pride 2025 will feature a multi media wall hung exhibition in Longford Library. This exhibition will be launched on Monday, June 2 and will be open to the public until Monday June 9. The theme of this exhibition is ‘Inner Pride’. Interested artists are encouraged to send photographs of their work along with dimensions and prices to; lorelei.longfordpride@gmail.com. Selected artists will be asked to provide a brief bio and artist’s photograph for use in the catalogue. Due to space constraints, only wall hung pieces will be accepted. Closing date for submissions is 5pm on May 12. PICTURES | Pride, colour and samba beats at Longford's inaugural Pride Parade