Gavin McCrea
Gavin’s mother gave him a love of books. “She left school at 14, but discovered reading when she was having children. It was a modest upbringing but we were always surrounded by good books.” After college…
Hugh O’Donovan
After a short spell at teacher training college, Hugh joined the Irish army. “Loving the idea of the outdoors, I got a cadetship at 17 and stayed for 23 years. I had a whizz time!” During…
Tim McCormick
Tim taught in India with the VSO after college, then moved to London to study accountancy. Back in Dublin, he joined the National Irish Investment Bank, where he remained until 1990. “After that I lectured in…
Ann O’Loughlin
High court reporter Ann O’Loughlin sees us at our most distressed moments and is particularly passionate about the plight of children put up for forced adoption, a thread in her first novel. She explains all to…
Whispering Hope Number One Non-Fiction
My latest ghosting, Whispering Hope, telling the true story of five Magdalene Women has gone straight into the bestseller lists at number one in paperback non-fiction in Ireland. it is selling well in England too. Brilliantly…
Maria Murphy
In her early 20s Maria was in a folk group, and she started writing lyrics, and some poetry. But it wasn’t until 2004, when she joined a creative writing group that she started taking writing seriously….
Doreen Finn
ELEVEN years ago, Doreen Finn was considering studying for a PhD. She had completed a Masters, spending a year writing about poverty and disadvantage in education, and had done well, but her thesis supervisor has some…
Launch of Whispering Hope
My latest Ghosting, Whispering Hope was launched in The Mansion House last Friday, 28th May, by MaryLou McDonald, TD. Four of the five Magdalene Survivors attended the launch. They were, (left to right,) Marina Gambold; Nancy Costello:…
Renee Knight
Leaving school at 16, Renee took a secretarial course, with French A’Level, then she started temping at the BBC. “And I stayed. I worked my way up the ladder, and became a documentary maker. Then I…
Sheena Lambert
As a child, Sheena had little interest in books. She was into science and maths, and she became an engineer working in waste management. “I was on landfill sites a lot, it was all wellingtons and…
Waterford Writer’s Weekend
I had a great time at the Waterford Writer’s Weekend on May 9th to 10th talking with Corrinna Moore to talk about her amazing mother, Marie Fleming, in conversation with Dave Kenny. We discussed the book…
Máire T Robinson
A writer from birth, Máire studied film at college, where she wrote screenplays and short films; then she stayed on in Galway working for the youth theatre. “I was studying film production at the time, and…