A 17-year-old student was the overall winner of the third Schools Against Racism Poetry Competition awards, which were held in Dublin yesterday.
Maria Coyle from Eureka Secondary School, Kells, Co Meath won for her poem Help!!!,which details the problems some nationalities face in making their voices heard.
The awards, which aim to raise awareness among young people of the need to tackle racism and to promote an intercultural society, were presented by President Mary McAleese at the National Library of Ireland.
Ms Coyle, who was also the winner in the senior category, said there were a number of different cultures and nationalities in the country, but that they often had difficulty being heard.
"I wanted to give them a voice in the poem so that that their cry for help would be heard," she said.
The junior winner was 15-year-old Kerri Ward from Assumption Secondary School, in Walkinstown, Dublin. Her poem Dark Satintells the story of a white girl with a black boyfriend. Her parents disapprove of the relationship and in the end they are forced to separate.
Judge Paula Meehan said the poem showed that unless a culture embraced otherness and difference, it was "doomed to aridity, banality and dullness".
Benjamin Burns (17) from Abbey Community College, in Boyle, Co Roscommon won the guest language writer for his poem Dans un Rayon de Soleil (In a Sun Beam).His entry outlines that while there are problems around issues of inclusion, there is also a lot of hope as well.
The winners read their poems for the audience including the President, who said they had not only impressed her, but could also give us hope for the future.
The competition ran in secondary schools in both the Republic and Northern Ireland, and was held during Intercultural and Anti-Racism Week from March 19th to 25th.
It was organised by Poetry Ireland in partnership with the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. The event has had about 5,000 entrants since it began in 2005.