Claremorris native Elizabeth Reapy was named the winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature 2017 for emerging Irish writers at Trinity College Dublin yesterday.

Elizabeth, who goes under the pen name E.M. Reapy, landed the Rooney Prize for her debut novel Red Dirt, which is an acclaimed story of three young Irish immigrants in Australia, running from the economic ruins of post-boom Ireland, and haunted by their own troubled lives.

The book won her the Newcomer Of The Year prize at the 2016 Irish Book Awards.

The 10,000 euro Rooney Prize is awarded annually for a body of work by a Irish writer under the age of 40 that shows exceptional promise.

Previous Mayo winners of the prize include Louisburg’s Mike McCormack and Colin Barrett from Knockmore.