Kate McHugh

She has always had an appreciation for the secrets and subtleties of language, and her four-year degree allowed her to unearth and nourish her love for all the different writing styles, from essays to short stories, in English and in French.

Thanks to an opportunity provided to a select few students of French in University of Galway, Kate is currently teaching English in a university in Nantes, France. For this, and for all the knowledge her wonderful French teachers bestowed upon her, she will be forever thankful: vous ne savez pas à quel point je vous suis tous reconnaissante. Moreover, receiving the award for the French Government Medal and NUI Prize for Proficiency in French 2022 is an honour Kate never anticipated, but one that she is immensely grateful for. It will serve as a daily reminder that her love of the French language is not misplaced.

Having had poetry published in literary magazines such as ROPES and Southword, Kate is eager to pursue her career as a writer in the future. Her dream is to publish a collection of poetry, followed by a collection of autofiction, and maybe even one day, a novel or two. For now, she is content to spend her time immersed in the French culture: eating pâtisseries, touring the country, and battling with the infamously fatiguing French administration (not necessarily in that order).