Waterford Youth Arts Creative Writing Workshops

Creative Writing Workshops

Get the ideas out of your head and onto the page

Saturday writing groups for ages 7 to 19 at Waterford Central Library. Poetry, stories and scripts, led by a working poet and playwright. No experience needed.

Autumn term is closed for bookings. Workshops run to late November, with no sessions during the October midterm.

AGES

5 to 17

Three age groups

WHEN

Saturday

Between 10am & 4pm

WHERE

Central Library

Hub Space, Lady Lane

FEE

€49 a term

Family discounts & bursaries

What happens in a session

Imagine it, write it, and have fun doing it

Our writing groups focus on growing creativity: exploring what and why we imagine, and how to put it all on the page.

Whether it's a young writer's very first story or they already know where they want to go, the groups help them harness the mass of ideas in their heads and turn them into finished work, from fiction and poetry to scripts and more.

Most importantly, it's all done while having fun.

Poetry

Playing with sound, rhythm and image.

Stories

Characters, worlds and plot.

Scripts

Writing dialogue and scenes for the stage.

Performance

Reading your work aloud with confidence.

Ideas

Prompts and games to spark imagination.

Sharing

Friendly feedback in a supportive group.

Taught by working artists

Meet your writing tutor

Every workshop is led by a practising artist, with trained, Garda-vetted volunteers alongside.

Mary O' Donoghue

Poet, playwright and performer

Mary O' Donoghue is a young poet, playwright, actor and performance poet. Her first published works featured in We Already Have a Voice, published by Waterford Youth Arts.

The creative writing groups, as run by Mary O’ Donoghue, will have a strong focus on the expansion of creativity, the exploration of what and why we imagine, how to put it all on a page - and most importantly, how to do it while having fun. From the very first step in a young writers journey to whatever path they wish to follow, Mary hopes to help young people harness the bubbling mass of ideas, imagination and creativity in their heads and funnel it into positive experiences and exemplary works of fiction, prose, poetry, script, and more. Mary is recognized for her poetry and performance poems and has appeared in online content for Poetry Day 2021. In 2022, Mary was commissioned by Waterford Youth Arts to write the short play The Fir Grove for younger performers and outdoor performances, directed by Sinéad Hourigan and performed by the 12 - 14 yrs at Wyse Park, Johns Lane, Waterford. Mary performed her poem at the launch of ‘Youth Arts Now’ Research report by John O’Brien at Smock Alley, Dublin on 31st January 2023. In theatre, she has appeared in productions with Waterford Youth Arts including Animal Farm by George Orwell directed by Rhiann Jeffreys, in 2021 Mary played Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet directed by Jim Nolan for Waterford Youth Arts, Mary was nominated for a Waterford News & Star Green Room Award for her performance in the role.

Autumn term 2026