The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature was created in 1976 by the Irish American businessman Dan Rooney, owner and chairman of the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers franchise and former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland. The prize is awarded to Irish writers aged under 40 who are published in Irish or English. Although often associated with individual books, it is intended to reward a body of work. Originally worth £750, the current value of the prize is €10,000.
1976: Heno Magee
1977: Desmond Hogan
1978: Peter Sheridan
1979: Kate Cruise O'Brien, A Gift Horse (short stories)
1980: Bernard Farrell
1981: Neil Jordan
1982: Medbh McGuckian; Special prize awarded to Seán Ó Tuama and Thomas Kinsella for An Duanaire / Poems of the Dispossessed
1983: Dorothy Nelson, In Night's City (novel)
1984: Ronan Sheehan
1985: Frank McGuinness, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme (play)
1986: Paul Mercier
1987: Deirdre Madden, Hidden Symptoms (novel)
1988: Glenn Patterson, Burning Your Own (novel)
1989: Robert McLiam Wilson, Ripley Bogle (novel)
1990: Mary Dorcey, A Noise from the Woodshed (short stories)
1991: Anne Enright, The Portable Virgin (short stories)
1992: Hugo Hamilton
1993: Gerard Fanning (poet)
1994: Colum McCann, Fishing the Sloe-Black River (short stories)
1995: Philip MacCann, The Miracle Shed (short stories)
1996: Mike McCormack, Getting It In The Head (short stories); additional Special Award presented to Vona Groarke and Conor O'Callaghan
1997: Anne Haverty, One Day as a Tiger (novel)
1998: David Wheatley, Thirst (poems)
1999: Mark O'Rowe, Howie the Rookie (play)
2000: Claire Keegan, Antarctica (short stories), Special award presented to David Marcus.
2001: Keith Ridgway, Standard Time (short stories)
2002: Caitríona O’Reilly, The Nowhere Birds (poems)
2003: Eugene O'Brien, Eden (play)
2004: Claire Kilroy, All Summer (novel)
2005: Nick Laird, To a Fault (poems)
2006: Philip Ó Ceallaigh, Notes from a Turkish Whorehouse (short stories)
2007: Kevin Barry, There Are Little Kingdoms (short stories) [1] [2]
2008: Leontia Flynn, Drives (poems)
2009: Kevin Power, Bad Day in Blackrock
2010: Leanne O'Sullivan, Cailleach: The Hag Of Beara
2011: Lucy Caldwell
2012: Nancy Harris
2013: Ciarán Collins
2014: Colin Barrett
2015: Sara Baume
2016: Doireann Ní Ghríofa
Rooney Prize for Irish Literature Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA