Patrick McCabe was born in Clones, Co Monaghan in 1955. He has published a children’s story, The Adventures of Shay Mouse (Dublin, Raven Arts Press, 1985), and the adult novels Music On Clinton Street (Raven, 1986); Carna (London, Aidan Ellis, 1989); The Butcher Boy (London, Picador, 1992), which was the winner of The Irish Times/Aer […]
Catherine Ann Cullen was born in Drogheda, Co Louth. Her poetry collections are A Bone in My Throat (Tralee, Doghouse Books, 2007); and Strange Familiar (Doghouse Books, 2013). Her verse-stories for childrens are The Magical, Mystical, Marvelous Coat ([illustrated by David Christiana] New York, Little Brown, 2001); and Thirsty Baby ([illustrated David M. McPhail] Little […]
Vincent Banville was born in Wexford in 1940. His novels include An End to Flight (London, Faber and Faber, 1973, originally published under the pen name Vincent Lawrence, reprinted, author Vincent Banville, Dublin, New Island Books, 2002); Death by Design (Dublin, The Wolfhound Press, 1993); Death the Pale Rider (Dublin, Poolbeg, 1995); and Cannon Law […]
Sebastian Barry was born in Dublin in 1955. His plays are The Pentagonal Dream (Damer Theatre 1986); Boss Grady’s Boys (Abbey Theatre, Peacock stage, Dublin 1988), which won the first BBC/Stewart Parker Award; Prayers of Sherkin (Abbey Theatre, Peacock stage, Dublin 1990, where he was Ansbacher Writer-in-Residence); White Woman Street (Bush Theatre, London 1992); The […]
Colin Bateman was born in Co Down in 1962. He has written fifteen novels, amongst them being Divorcing Jack (London, Arcade Publishing, 1995); Cycle of Violence (London, Harper Collins,1995); Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men (Harper Collins, 1996) Empire State (London, Harper Collins, 1997); Turbelent Priests (Harper Collins, 1999) and Belfast Confidential (London, Headline, 2005). […]
Mary Beckett was born in Belfast in 1926. She began writing in her twenties, first for the BBC, and then for literary magazines. Her stories are collected as A Belfast Woman (Dublin, Poolbeg, 1980/New York, William Morrow, Beechtree Books, 1998); and A Literary Woman (London, Bloomsbury, 1990). Her novel is Give Them Stones (Bloomsbury, 1987/New […]
Pat Boran was born in Portlaoise in 1963. His poetry collections are The Unwound Clock (Dublin, The Dedalus Press, 1990), which won the Patrick Kavanagh Award; Familiar Things (Dedalus, 1993); The Shape of Water (Dedalus, 1996); As the Hand, the Glove (Dedalus, 2001); and New and Selected Poems, with an introduction by Dennis O’Driscoll (Cambridge, […]
John Boyne was born in Dublin in 1971. His first short story was published by the Sunday Tribune and shortlisted for a Hennessy Literary Award. His novels for both adults and children are The Thief of Time (London, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2000); The Congress of Rough Riders, a fictional recreation of the life of Buffalo […]
Eoin Colfer was born in Wexford in 1965. His books are Benny & Omar (Dublin, The O’Brien Press 1990); Ed’s Funny Feet (O’Brien, 2000); Ed’s Bed (O’Brien, 2001); The Wish List (O’Brien, 2002); Artemis Fowl (London, Viking Children’s, 2001); Artemis Fowl: The Artic Incident (London, Viking/Puffin, 2002); Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code (Puffin, 2003); Artemis […]
June Considine is the author of twelve books for pre-teens and young adults. These include the best-selling trilogy, When the Luvenders Came to Merrick Town, Luvenders at the Old Mill and Island of Luvenders. Her novel View from a Blind Bridge was short-listed for Bisto Award and was followed by The Glass Triangle. She also […]
Carmen Cullen was born in Tipperary in 1950. She has published Class Acts (plays for schools, Dublin, Folens, 1994); Sky of Kites, Poetry for Children (Co Wicklow, Kestrel Books, 1998); and Under the Eye of the Moon (with illustrations by Oona McFarland: Cork, Mercier Press, 2001). She was Director of the Oscar Wilde Autumn School, […]
Ita Daly short stories are collected as The Lady with the Red Shoes (Dublin, Poolebeg, 1980). Her novels include Ellen (London, Jonathan Cape, 1986); A Singular Attraction (Jonathan Cape, 1987); Dangerous Fictions (London, Bloomsbury, 1991); All Fall Down (Bloomsbury, 1992), and Unholy Ghosts (Bloomsbury 1997). She has also published a number of books for children, […]
Patrick Deeley was born in Galway in 1953. His collections are Intimate Strangers (Dublin, The Dedalus Press, 1986); Names for Love (The Dedalus Press, 1990); Turane, The Hidden Village (The Dedalus Press, 1995); Decoding Samara (The Dedalus Press, 2000); The Bones of Creation (The Dedalus Press, 2008); and Groundswell: New and Selected Poems (The Dedalus […]
Roger Derham was born in Dublin in 1956. His novels are The Simurgh and the Nightingale (Cork, The Collins Press, 2001); When Twilight Comes (Galway, Wynkin de Worde, 2003); Windsong: The Breath of Being (Wynkin de Worde, 2004). As Alex Skalding, he has also published one work of fiction for children, The Colour of Rain […]
Eilís Dillon was born in Galway on 7 March 1920. Educated at the Ursuline Convent in Sligo, she married in 1940 and moved to Cork. From the mid-1940s she began to write children’s books in Irish and English, then detective stories and novels, mostly published by Faber and Faber. During the 1960s she lived in […]
Roddy Doyle was born in Dublin in 1958. His novels are The Commitments, (originally published in Dublin by King Farouk, thereafter London, Secker & Warburg, 1987); The Snapper (Secker & Warburg, 1990); The Van (Secker & Warburg, 1991), which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize; The Barrytown Trilogy [The Commitments, The Snapper, and The Van] […]
Rose Doyle was born in Dublin. Her novels are Images (Dublin, Poolebeg, 1993); Kimbay (Dublin, Town and Country/London, MacMillan, 1994); Alva (MacMillan, 1996); Perfectly Natural (MacMillan, 1997); In Secret Sin (Dublin, TownHouse/London, Pan MacMillan, 2000); Fate and Tomorrow (London, Hodder and Stoughton, 2002); Friends Indeed (Hodder and Stoughton, 2003); Gambling with Darkness (Hodder and Stoughton, […]
Gabriel Fitzmaurice was born in Moyvane, Co Kerry, in 1952. A former Chair and Literary Advisor of Writers’ Week, the Writers’ Conference in Listowel, Co. Kerry, he is author of more than twenty books, including poetry in English and Irish, children’s verse in English and Irish, translations from the Irish, essays, and collections of songs […]
Maeve Friel was born in Derry in 1950. A prolific writer for children, The books in her Witch in Training series are Witch in Training – Spelling Trouble (London, Harper Collins 2003); Witch in Training – Charming or What (London, Harper Collins 2003); Witch in Training – Brewing Up, (London, Harper Collins 2003); Witch in […]
Carlo Gébler was born to the writers Edna O’Brien and Ernest Gébler in Dublin in 1954. He moved to London with his mother in 1958. His novels include The Eleventh Summer (London, Hamish Hamilton/New York, Dutton 1985); August in July (Hamish Hamilton, 1986); Work and Play (Hamish Hamilton/ New York, Fireside, 1987); Malachy and His […]
Eileen O’Faolain, née Gould, was born in Cork in 1902. She married Sean O’Faolain in 1927. Her children’s books include The Little Black Hen (New York, Random House, 1940); The Children of the Crooked Castle (Dublin, The Talbot Press, 1945); Miss Pennyfeather and the pooka (illustrated by Norah McGuinness, New York, Random House, 1946); Miss […]
Pat Ingoldsby was born in Dublin in 1942. Widely broadcast on TV, Radio, since the mid-1990s he has self-published and sold his work on the streets of Dublin, where he is a well-known figure. His poetry includes You’ve Just Finished Reading This Title (Blackrock, The Author, c. 1977); Rhyme Doesn’t With Reason; Up The Leg […]
James Joyce was born in Dublin on February 2, 1882. His poetry includes Chamber Music (London, Elkin Mathews, 1907); Pomes Pennyeach (Paris, Shakespheare & Company, 1927); and Collected Poems (New York, The Black Sun Press, 1963). His collection of short stories is Dubliners (London, Grant Richards, 1914). His play, Exiles, was first performed in 1917 […]
Conor Kostick is an historian and a writer of fiction for children and young adults. His fictional works are Epic (Dublin, O’Brien, 2004); Saga (O’Brien, 2006); The Book of Curses (O’Brien, 2007); and Move (O’Brien, 2008). His non-fiction publications include Revolution in Ireland (London, Pluto Press, 1996); The Social Structure of the First Crusade (Leiden, […]
Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast in 1898. His poetry includes Spirits in Bondage ([psued. Clive Hamilton,] 1919); Dymer (London, J. M. Dent/New York, E. P. Dutton & Co. 1926; republished 1950); Narrative Poems (London, ed. Walter Hooper, Geoffrey Bles, 1969); and Poems (London, ed. Walter Hooper, Geoffrey Bles, 1964, 1977). His autobiographical works […]
Liam Mac Uistin was born in Dublin in 1938. His published work includes the novels Esperanza and Dordd (Báile Átha Cliath, Clóchomhar, 1994), for which he won Oireachtas awards, and Mac an Easpaig (Clóchomhar, 1997). His published plays are Pocléim and Liombó (An Clóchamhar), and The Glory and the Dream (Delaware Press, USA). His other […]
Terry McDonagh was born in Cill Aodáin, Kiltimagh, Co Mayo in 1946. His plays include The Dark Side of a Dream; Anything for a Fiver; I wanted to bring you flowers (translated as Ich kann das alles erklären); Eternity Under Lucifer the First; and Children of the Whip. His poetry collections are The Road Out […]
Michael McLaverty was born in July, 1904, at Carrrickmacross, Co. Monaghan, and was partly raised on Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim, before moving to Belfast, where he taught for many years. His novels are Call My Brother Back (London & New York, Longmans, Green 1939); Lost Fields (New York & Toronto, Longmans, Green 1941); In This […]
Eoin McNamee was born in Kilkeel, Co Down, in 1961. He has written two novellas, The Last of Deeds, (Raven Arts Press, Dublin),which was shortlisted for the 1989 Irish Times/Aer Lingus Award for Irish Literature; and Love in History. His novels are Resurrection Man (London, Picador,1994); The Blue Tango (London, Faber & Faber, 2001); The […]
Walter Macken was born on May 3rd, 1915, in Galway. Originally an actor, principally with the Tadhbhearc in Galway, and The Abbey Theatre, he played lead roles on Broadway in MJ Molloy‘s The King of Friday’s Men and his own play Home is the Hero. He also acted in films, notably in Brendan Behan’s The […]
Deirdre Madden was born in 1960 in County Antrim. Her novels include Hidden Symptoms (London, Faber & Faber, 1988; USA, Atlantic Monthly Press, 1987); The Birds of the Innocent Wood (Faber & Faber, 1988); Remembering Light and Stone (Faber & Faber 1992); Nothing is Black (Faber & Faber, 1994); One by One in the Darkness […]
Val Mulkerns was born in Dublin in 1925. Her novels include The Time Outwork (London, Chatto and Windus, 1951/New York,The Devin-Adair Company, 1952); A Peacock Cry (London, Hodder, 1954); The Summerhouse (London, John Murray, 1984); and Very Like a Whale (Murray, 1986). includes the short story collections Antiquities (London, Deutch, 1978); An Idle Woman (Dublin, […]
Éilís Ní Dhuibhne was born in Dublin in 1954. Her novels are The Bray House (Dublin, Attic Press, 1990); Singles (Dublin, Attic Press, 1992); The Dancers Dancing (Belfast, The Blackstaff Press, 1999/London Headline Review, 2001),which was shortlisted for the 2000 Orange Prize; and Fox, Swallow, Scarecrow (The Blackstaff Press, 2007); and Dún an Airgid (Dublin, […]
Áine Ní Ghlinn was born in Co Tipperary in 1955. She has published three collections: An Chéim Bhriste (Baile Átha Cliath, Coiscéim, 1984); Gardín Pharthais (Coiscéim, 1988); and Deora Nár Caoineadh/Unshed Tears (Dublin, The Dedalus Press/ Coiscéim, 1996). She has written two non-fiction works for teenage readers, Mná agus nGnáth (Baile Átha Cliath, An Gúm, […]
Julie O’Callaghan was born in Chicago in 1954. Her collections of poetry for adults include Edible Anecdotes (Mountrath, Dolmen, 1983), which was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation; What’s What (Newcastle Upon Tyne, Bloodaxe Books, 1991), a Poetry Book Society Choice; No Can Do (Bloodaxe Books, 2000), a Poetry Book Society Recommendation, for which she was […]
Tommy Frank O’Connor was born in Currow, Tralee, Co Kerry in 1944. His novel is The Poacher’s Apprentice (Dublin, Marino, 1997). His poems are collected as Attic Warpipes (Cork, Bradshaw Books, 2004); Loose Head (Tralee, Doghouse Books, 2004); and Meeting Mona Lisa (Doghouse Books, 2011). His work for the stage includes the pageant Breanainn, at […]
Siobhán Parkinson was born in 1954 in Dublin but grew up in Galway and Donegal. Her books for children include The Leprechaun Who Wished He Wasn’t (O’Brien, 1993, reprinted 2003); Four Kids, Three Cats, Two Cows, One Witch (Maybe) (Dublin, O’Brien Press, 1998), which won a Bisto Merit Award; Sisters… No Way! (O’Brien Press, 1998), […]
Gabriel Rosenstock was born in Kilfinane, Co Limerick in 1949. He writes primarily in Irish and is the author or translator of over one hundred books. His poetry collections include Susanne sa seomra folctha (Baile Átha Cliath, Clódhanna, 1973); Méaram!(Baile Átha Cliath, An Clóchomhar, 1981); Om, An Clóchomhar, 1983); Nihil Obstat (Baile Átha Cliath, Coiscéim, […]
Jack Scoltock was born in Derry in 1942. His novels for children are Quest Of The Royal Twins (Dublin, Wolfhound Press, 1988); Rumble In The Jungle (Wolfhound Press, 1989); Badger Beano And The Magic Mushroom (Wolfhound Press, 1990); Jeremy’s Adventure (Wolfhound Press, 1991); The Magic Sword (Wolfhound Press, 1992); Seek The Enchanted Antlers (Wolfhound Press, […]
Matthew Sweeney was born in Co Donegal in 1952. His poetry collections include A Dream of Maps (Dublin, Raven Arts Press, 1981); A Round House (London, Alison & Busby/ Raven, 1983); The Lame Waltzer (Allison & Busby,1985); Blue Shoes (Secker & Warburg,1989); Cacti (Secker & Warburg 1989); The Bridal Suite (London, Jonathan Cape, 1997); A […]
Kate Thompson was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, in 1956. She has published one collection of poetry, There is Something (USA, The Signpost Press/Galway, Salmon Poetry, 1992); and three adult novels, Down Among the Gods (London, Virago Press, 1997); Thin Air (London, Sceptre, 1999); and An Act of Worship (Sceptre, 2000). She has published a number […]
Shaun Traynor was born in Aghadowey, County Derry, in 1941. His poetry collections include The Hardening Ground (London, Martin, Brian & O’Keeffe, 1974); and Images in Winter (Martin Brian & O’Keeffe, 1979). He has written several novels for children, including Hugo O’Huge (London, Metheun, 1984); The Children’s Giant (Metheun, 1989); The Giant’s Olympics (Metheun, 1987); […]
William Wall was born in Cork in 1955. His poetry collections are Mathematics & Other Poems* (Collins Press 1997), which won The Patrick Kavanagh Award and the Listowel Writers’ Week Collection Prize; Fahrenheit Says Nothing To Me (Dublin, Dedalus Press, 2004); and Ghost Estate (Cliffs of Moher, Salmon Poetry, 2011). As Bill Wall, he has […]
Grace Wells was born in London in 1968. Her books for children include Gyrfalcon (Dublin, O’Brien Press, 2002), which won won the Eilis Dillon Best Newcomer Bisto Award and was also an International White Ravens’ Choice; and Ice Dreams (O’Brien Press, 2008). Her book One World Our World is a storybook for children in Ireland […]
Gerard Whelan was born in Enniscorthy, County Wexford. He is the author of several books for children and is a multiple award-winner. The Guns of Easter, his first novel, (Dublin, The O’Brien Press, 1996), won a Bisto Merit Award and the Eilis Dillon Award for first-time writers. Dream Invader was the overall winner of the […]
Oscar Wilde was born in Westland Row, Dublin on October 16th, 1854 to an eminent surgeon, William Wilde and the famous nationalist poet, Lady Jane Wilde, known as Speranza (her Selected Poems were published in Dublin in 1900). He settled in London in 1879. In 1882 he embarked on a lecture tour of the United […]
Enda Wyley was born in Dublin in 1966. Her collections are Eating Baby Jesus (Dublin, The Dedalus Press, 1993); Socrates In the Garden (The Dedalus Press, 1998); Poems for Breakfast (Dedalus, 2004); and To Wake to This (The Dedalus Press, 2009). She was poet in Residence in Melbourne University in 1996, having received The Vincent […]
