Angela Graham
Angela has always loved words. She read Chamber’s Dictionary from cover to cover as a child, and had her first poem published aged 7. “My parents were poor, but they made good use of the library….
Patrick Freyne
Patrick wrote songs as a teenager, but didn’t get down to writing prose until his twenties. His energies, at the time, were focused on his band. “I was doing other jobs – including bits of journalism,”…
Jean Kyoung Frazier
Jean’s mum immigrated from Korea to the US at 17, and while she spoke English pretty flawlessly, she found reading harder.“She bought me as many books as I wanted,” says Jean. “It brought her a lot…
Grainne Murphy
Gráinne enjoyed an idyllic rural childhood. “There was lots of freedom. We cycled, and played in the forest and the river.” Her parents encouraged her love of reading – everything from Enid Blyton to the classics….
Helly Acton
Helly’s family lived in Zimbabwe and Saudi before settling in England when Helly was 14. “I loved reading and films, and I made up stories, but I didn’t think I’d become an author.” She worked in…
Zoe Somerville
A prolific writer as a child, Zöe lost her confidence as a teenager. “I was too intimidated. It was, almost, as if I’d read too much!” During university holidays, she went to America, then taught English…
Sandra Harris.
An introverted child, Sandra spent a lot of time reading. “It was a great escape,” she says. She moved to Dublin in 1991, and from 2005, has Cared for her second child, who is autistic…
Henry Murphy
Henry wrote a bit when he was at university, but then life intervened. “After college, I went to India with Voluntary Service Overseas. I stayed for a year, teaching English near Calcutta. When he returned, he…
Eoin McGee
Eoin has always loved numbers. And, inspired by Ellen O’Rourke, his business teacher at school, he went on to study the subject at college. After that he joined Irish Life – a company he had cause…
Louise Fein
Louise’s father was a lawyer who was prevented from practicing by Hitler. In England, as a refugee, he started a family business. “He never talked about the experience,” says Louise. “But he refused to speak German…
Tamsin Calidas
Tamsin has always been drawn to the arts. “As a child I expressed myself in art and music – it was an escape from a difficult childhood. I loved words. One of my first memories was…
Dara McAnulty
Dara has always been passionate about the natural world. “I remember, when I was very small, watching pigeons for hours. My interest developed from there.” At just 16, Dara has long been recognised for his knowledge…