In her writings, Ní Dhomhnaill focuses on the rich traditions and heritage of Ireland, and draws upon themes of ancient Irish folklore and mythology that intermingle with contemporary issues concerning femininity, sexuality and culture.

In 1981, Ní Dhomhnaill published her fist poetry collection, An Dealg Droighin (Cork: Mercier Press), and became a member of Aosdána. Other works include Féar Suaithinseach (Maynooth: An Sagart,1984); Feis (An Sagart, 1991), and Cead Aighnis (translated by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin and Medbh McGuckian; An Sagart, 1999). Ní Dhomhnaill’s poems appeared in English translation in the dual-language editions Rogha Dánta/Selected Poems (Dublin: Raven Arts Press, 1986, 1988, 1990; translated by Michael Harnett); The Astrakhan Cloak (Oldcastle: Gallery translated by Paul Muldoon, 1991, 1992), Pharaoh’s Daughter (Gallery, 1990), and The Fifty Minute Mermaid (translated by Paul Muldoon; Gallery, 2007).

In 2018, she received the Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award for her achievements in poetry.

She was Ireland Professor of Poetry, 2013 – 2016. Her public lectures from these years, Imaginary Bonnets with Real Bees in Them, was published by UCD Press in 2016. Geomantic, a new collection of poetry, is published by Dedalus Press, Dublin.

Doireann’s early work includes three Irish-language collections (Résheoid, Dúlasair, and Oighear, all published by Coiscéim), and the bilingual pamphlet A Hummingbird, your Heart (Smithereens Press). Her first collection of poems in English was Clasp (Dedalus Press, 2015), whose “poems excel in their consideration of motherhood” (Poetry Magazine, Chicago). Clasp was shortlisted for the 2016 Irish Times Poetry Award, and was joint winner of the Michael Hartnett Poetry Prize. Doireann’s most recent books are ‘Lies’ (drawing on a decade of her Irish poems in translation), and ‘9 Silences,’ a collaborative book of poems and art, with acclaimed visual artist Alice Maher.

In her role as Ireland Professor of Poetry, Paula Meehan awarded Doireann the Ireland Chair of Poetry Bursary 2014-2015. Doireann has also been awarded The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature (2016), The Michael Hartnett Poetry Prize (2016), a Seamus Heaney Fellowship (Queen’s University, Belfast, 2018), The Wigtown Award for Gaelic Poetry in translation (Scotland, 2012), the Ostana Prize (Italy, 2018), and a Lannan Literary Fellowship for Poetry (USA, 2018). The Arts Council of Ireland have awarded her four bursaries in literature, and three of her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize (USA). In 2016, she was selected as one of Poetry Ireland Review’s ‘Rising Generation’ of Irish poets.

Her work has been commissioned by institutions such as The Poetry Society (Britain), Temple Bar Gallery, Poetry Ireland, The Embassy of Ireland in Britain and the Department of Foreign Affairs. More information on current projects is available here.

Born in Galway in 1981, she grew up in rural County Clare, learning Irish through the Gaelscoil system of immersion education. She attended university in Cork city, where she variously studied human anatomy, psychology, and literature. She is a qualified teacher, and holds an M.A. in Modern Irish Literature/Nua-Ghaeilge (UCC). Doireann lives near Cork city with her husband and their four young children.

His most recent book, Cheat Sheets (Truth Serum Press, 2018), is a collection darkly comic flash fictions with the theme of infidelity. Donal Ryan refers to them as “wicked little gems”, while Tanya Farrelly compares them to “Woody Allen at his best” and describes the book as “a side-splitting study on the absurdity of human behaviour.” The book features on The Lonely Crowd journal’s ‘Best Books of 2018’ list.

He has recently completed a sequel to Cheat Sheets and a new collection of poems, Exquisite Prisons, will be published in Spring 2020. At the moment he is having a go at writing a novel.