“Laureate na nÓg Sarah Crossan is on a mission to encourage teenagers to express themselves through poetry. Her project We Are The Poets inspires young people to perform with more confidence and helps them to connect them to a wider audience. For this special Festival edition of We Are The Poets, featuring MC John Cummins and guest poet Moley, Kilkenny’s Rhyme Rag Collective performs work created during a masterclass for young writers.

John Cummins has been writing for over 20 years and has been performing since early 2010. He was Leinster Poetry Slam Champion for three years running and the 2013/2014 All-Ireland Poetry Slam Champion. He is currently poet in residence at Bohemians Football Club.

Laureate na nÓg is an initiative of the Arts Council. It is supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Poetry Ireland and is managed by Children’s Books Ireland. The honour was established by the Arts Council to engage young people with high-quality literature and to underline the importance of children’s literature in our cultural and imaginative lives.”