SpeakersCainteoirí

John Banville is a novelist, screenwriter, playwright and book reviewer. He worked in journalism for many years, and was literary editor at The Irish Times from 1988 to 2000. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books, the Guardian, New Statesman and other journals. His latest novel is Venetian Vespers.

His works include The Book of Evidence, The Sea, and The Infinities. Among the awards he has received are the Man Booker Prize, the Austrian State Prize for Literature, the Kafka Prize, Irish PEN Award and the Prince of Asturias Award. He has written a number of crime novels, including Snow, and, most recently, The Drowned. He was born in Wexford, and lives in Dublin.

Photo Credit: Douglas Banville

Lesley Bond lives in Kildare with her husband and son. In 2019, she and her now husband spent six months living and working as caretakers on the Great Blasket Island. This experience grew from her 2018 master’s studies at Trinity College Dublin, which focused on the island’s intangible heritage, and a career shaped by roles in Ireland’s cultural institutions. Blasket Bound: Memoirs of an Island Caretaker is her first book.

Photo Credit: Lesley Bond

Jennifer Bray is the author of The Lies Between Us, her debut novel, which is published by Penguin Sandycove.

Jen is the political editor at The Sunday Times. Her eighteen-year journalism career includes work with the Irish Times, The Times, the Sunday Tribune, and the Irish Daily Mail.

Jen lives in Dublin and is currently working on her second novel while also trying to tackle a towering pile of TBR books.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Bray

Jan Brierton is a Dublin-based fashion stylist, creative director and poet. Her debut collection What Day Is It? Who Gives a Fck* was born out of lockdown and propelled by a viral poem that resonated across Ireland . Her follow-up, Everybody Is a Poem: Midlife in Rhymes (New Island), explores menopause, motherhood, friendship and self-acceptance with her signature mix of sharp wit and emotional clarity. 

Jan is the resident poet on RTÉ Radio 1’s Ray D’Arcy Show and has performed her work live at Electric Picnic, the London Irish Centre, and the 3Olympia Theatre, where she opened for her poetry hero John Cooper Clarke. 2025 has seen Jan resume opening duties with Dr John Cooper Clarke on his tour to celebrate International Poetry Day with performances at the London Palladium and the Manchester Co Op Arena.

Jan will also tour the UK and Ireland in 2026 with poet and writer Henry Normal. Where together through poetry they explore love, life and all the important stuff like biscuits and tea!

Photo Credit: Author

Edel Coffey is an Irish author and journalist. She has published three number-one bestselling novels. Her debut novel, Breaking Point, won the An Post Irish Book Award for Crime Novel of the Year. She is a regular contributor to The Irish Times and RTE Radio One.  

Photo Credit: Ger Holland

Derek Coyle’s Reading John Ashbery in Costa Coffee Carlow (2019) was shortlisted for the Shine Strong 2020 award for best first collection. Sipping Martinis under Mount Leinster (2024) is published in a dual language edition in Tranas, Sweden.

His poems have appeared in The Irish Times, Irish Pages, The Stinging Fly, Poetry Salzburg Review, The Texas Literary Review, The Honest Ulsterman, Orbis, Skylight 47, Assaracus, The High Window and The Stony Thursday Book.

He reviews books regularly, and he has written literary essays on the poetry of Seamus Heaney, John Montague, James Schuyler and Paula Meehan. He lectures in Carlow College/St Patrick’s, Ireland.

Photo Credit: Derek Coyle

Sinéad Cuddihy is the founder of Tired Mammy Book Club, an Instagram-based book club and online community of more than 14,500 readers. She hosts monthly online book club meetings, organises in-person meet-ups throughout the year, and regularly moderates literary events across Ireland. 

Sinéad has been an ambassador for the National Public Libraries Open Day campaign in 2025 and 2026, and has appeared as a guest speaker at the Red Line Festival for many years.

Alongside growing a strong and engaged online community, Sinéad has built lasting relationships with readers, booksellers, librarians, publishers and publicists. She is passionate about championing Irish authors, connecting readers and creating welcoming spaces. 

Photo Credit: Sinéad Cuddihy

Aoife Dooley is an award-winning illustrator, author, and comedian. Diagnosed as autistic at 27, she shares her experiences through talks, comics, and books that connect with audiences of all ages.

She is best known for Frankie’s World, which won multiple awards and has been translated into several languages. Aoife also created the popular series Your One Nikita, later adapted as an animated show for RTÉ. Her latest graphic novel, Squid Squad: Shrimpy the Best, continues her signature mix of humour, heart, and relatable storytelling.

She has spoken at major events such as Offset and Zeminar and performed stand-up at festivals including Electric Picnic and the Vodafone Comedy Festival.

Photo Credit: Aoife Dooley

Orla Drumgoole taught music and English for over 35 years. She’s now using her teaching and communication skills to share her passion for home cooked food on Instagram. She lives in Monaghan with her husband Paddy. They have three daughters.  She is a native of Newbridge and her dad Pat Grennan was in the army. Her mam Nancy taught in Newbridge for over thirty years.

Photo Credit: Orla Drumgoole

Ruth Ennis (she/they) is a poet and verse-novelist from Kildare. She has an M.Phil. in Children’s Literature from Trinity College Dublin and is usually found giving book recommendations or working with books in some capacity. She was the Emerging Writer in Residence at the dlr LexIcon from 2025-2026. She reviews children’s books for Books Ireland Magazine. She has work published in The Irish Writer’s Handbook and I Am The Wind: Irish Poems for Children Everywhere. Shorelines is her debut novel.

Photo Credit: Ruth Ennis

Kate Escolin is an Illustrator, Arts Facilitator, and Comic Artist, based in Ireland. Her visual work consists of bright and playful imagery that embody themes of optimism, inclusivity and tenderness. Her practice focuses on digital illustration, design, comics and animation.

Along with her visual work, she teaches workshops with a focus on comic and zine making, for all ages around Ireland. A large part of her practice focuses on fostering community.

She is the host of Sketchbook Club, a free monthly meet-up that encourages analog art exploration and community building, at Little Deer Comics, Riverbank Arts Centre and Richmond Barracks. She is also a committee member of the Dublin Comic Arts Festival. 

Photo Credit: Kate Escolin

From Drumree, County Meath, Barry Geraghty was one of the greatest jump jockeys of his generation, enjoying a distinguished 23-year career in the saddle. He rode five winners at the Cheltenham Festival in 2003 and won the Grand National at Aintree on Monty's Pass only weeks later.

Now retired, Barry is a leading racing media pundit, prominent brand ambassador for William Hill, and one of National Hunt racing's all-time great jockeys.

Photo Credit: Barry Geraghty

Patricia is the multi-million copy bestselling author of the Detective Lottie Parker series. Her novels have been translated in multiple territories. 

She started writing following the death of her husband, Aidan. Writing in the crime genre came naturally as that’s what she mainly loves to read.

Patricia lives in County Westmeath.

Photo Credit: Patricia Gibney

Edie May Hand is a writer from County Meath, Ireland. She graduated from University College Dublin in 2019 with a joint honours in History of Art and English Literature. She has been writing for over a decade. Edie began Dirtpickers as part of Maynooth University's Creative Writing Masters Programme, for which she received a first-class honours degree in 2024. 

Dirtpickers is her debut novel and she is currently working on her second.

Photo Credit: Ger Holland

Carmel Harrington is a bestselling, award-winning Irish author published internationally. Her fourteenth novel, the emotional thriller The Nowhere Girls, became an instant number one bestseller, remaining in the top spot for three weeks. It was named a Sunday Times Best Crime Fiction pick, which described Carmel as ‘a superb chronicler of family dynamics.’

Carmel is a Good Housekeeping Good Books Winner and has been shortlisted for an Irish Book Award several times. Carmel’s Quick Read for the 2026 programme, The Last Bench, will be published on World Book Night. Carmel lives in Wexford with her family and rescue dog, George Bailey.

To keep in touch with Carmel, follow her on social media or visit her website:

Instagram & Facebook @HAPPYMRSH | www.carmelharrington.com

Photo Credit: Carmel Harrington

Anne Heffernan is a multi-award-winning producer who has been making thought-provoking documentaries and factual television for over 15 years.

In 2021, Anne established Curious North Productions with a mission to produce inclusive factual film and television to reach the broadest audience, while representing diverse voices and championing untold stories.

In 2025, Anne produced A Quiet Love, directed by Academy Award-shortlisted director, Garry Keane and co-produced by Seán Herlihy. A Quiet Love is Ireland’s first feature film in Irish Sign Language. Prior to its theatrical release in February 2026, A Quiet Love won the Global Production Award for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Cannes and has been an official selection of more than 20 film festivals on 4 continents.  

Anne’s documentaries and series have been broadcast on RTÉ, TG4, Virgin Media, BBC NI and on broadcasters around the world including SBS Australia, RTVE, The History Channel, Apple TV and Amazon Prime and have won 3 Irish Film and Television Awards, a Radharc and 2 Celtic Media awards.

Photo Credit: Anne Heffernan

A native of Athy, Co. Kildare, Graham Herterich also known as ‘The Cupcake Bloke’, has made a significant impact in the Irish food industry. He developed his love affair with baking as a young child while learning to cook at his granny’s side. He continued his training in Culinary Arts at Waterford Institute of Technology, eventually opening The Bakery in Rialto.

Graham continues to expand his culinary influence through ventures like Ernie’s @ Shackleton Experience in Athy and through his award-winning work, including multiple Blas na hÉireann and Chef Ireland accolades. An accomplished author, he has published two cookbooks that reimagine traditional Irish recipes for contemporary audiences.

Photo Credit: Graham Herterich

Faith Hogan is an award-winning, million copy best seller. She is a USA Today, Irish Times Top Ten and an Amazon UK Number 1 Best Selling writer of contemporary fiction novels. Her stories have charmed readers around the world - she's sold internationally and translated widely. She writes grown up women's fiction which is unashamedly uplifting, feel-good and inspiring.

The Bookshop Ladies was shortlisted for an An Post Book Award in 2024.

The Sisters of Hope Square is her brand new summer read coming June 2026. It is a gripping and poignant story of two sisters divided by jealousy and disappointment who must put their differences aside to save the inheritance that drove a wedge between them decades earlier.

She writes twisty contemporary crime fiction as Geraldine Hogan.

She lives in the west of Ireland with her family and their Labrador named Penny. She's a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger - except of course when it is raining!

Photo Credit: Faith Hogan

Mary Linehan trained as an actress in the Focus Theatre under Deirdre O''Connell. She has acted and directed in several Focus productions and was a founding member of Smashing Times Theatre Company.

In 1994 Mary became Arts Officer for Co. Kildare. Projects undertaken during her tenure included the founding of the Bealtaine Arts Festival in Newbridge and the establishment of the Riverbank Arts Centre. Over the last number of years, she has written and directed plays for children and young people with Kildare Youth Theatre. She is a Board Member of Crooked House Theatre Company. 

She currently teaches on the Maynooth University course, Certificate in Directing for Theatre.  In 2012, Mary was the chairperson of the first June Fest in Newbridge.

Photo Credit: Mary Linehan

John MacKenna is a writer, actor and director. He is the author of twenty-six books and a dozen stage and radio plays.

His interest in Mary Leadbeater and her work goes back to his editing of an edition of The Annals of Ballitore in the 1980s.

He also wrote the introductory essay to the current full edition of The Annals published by Kildare County Council.

Photo Credit: John MacKenna

The recipient of a Martin Wills Award for racing writing in 1993, Donn began in journalism as the main features writer on racing with the Sunday Independent the same year. He is now the chief racing writer with the Sunday Times in Ireland, and he writes a weekly column for the Irish Field. He is a four-time nominee for the HWPA Racing Writer of the Year award.

Donn has worked as a broadcaster with RTE, Virgin Media, Sky, UTV and Newstalk. He is now a presenter and analyst with Racing TV, and he is a regular guest on RTE radio.

He has ghost-written six racing autobiographies, including that of 20-time champion jockey Sir Anthony McCoy, the most successful National Hunt jockey ever, and that of nine-time champion, the late and much-missed Pat Smullen.

Most recently, Donn has worked with the recently-retired top-class National Hunt jockey Davy Russell on his autobiography, which was shortlisted for the 2024 An Post Irish Sports Book of the Year award. Donn was also a key contributor to documentaries on several leading racing personalities, including Jim Bolger, Michael Kinane, Shergar and Arkle, and to the IFTA-nominated Jump Boys.

Photo Credit: Donn McClean

Ian Maleney is a writer, editor, and documentary producer from County Offaly. His first collection of essays, Minor Monuments, was published by Tramp Press in 2019 and nominated for several awards. His journalism, criticism, and essay-writing has been published widely, including in the Irish Times, Sunday Times, Esquire, and The Guardian. His second book, Tough Guys, is forthcoming in 2027.

He has worked as the lead producer on several major Irish podcasts, including The Witness: In His Own Words, a ground-breaking series which was chosen as one of the top twenty podcasts of 2021 by both Apple Podcasts and The Guardian. He is the founder and co-editor of fallow, an innovative literary publication based in Dublin.

A recipient of the Arts Council Next Generation Award, he was the Commissioned Writer at Temple Bar Gallery & Studios in 2020, and the 2024 Writer-in-Residence at University College Cork.

Photo Credit: Ian Maleney

Dearbhla Mescal’s Finding Joy is a moving reflection on the power of everyday moments and the beauty found in ordinary life. Drawing on her personal experiences and insights, the book offers readers a gentle guide to discovering joy in their own daily lives.

A retired Garda and mother of actor Paul Mescal and singer Nell Mescal, Dearbhla was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer in 2022. Following a stem cell transplant, she is now in remission, bringing an added depth and perspective to her writing.

Photo Credit: Dearbhla Mescal

Miriam Mulcahy is a writer, journalist and editor who contributes to The Irish Times. Her first book, This is My Sea, was a number one bestseller, nominated for an Irish Book Award and was an Irish Times book of the year.

From Newbridge, she lives in Kildare with her children and her dog, Juno.

Photo Credit: Conor Horgan

Louise Nealon is a writer from County Kildare, Ireland. Her debut novel, Snowflake, was published in 2021. It won the Newcomer of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards and was chosen for the One Dublin One Book campaign in 2024.

Her second novel, Everything that is Beautiful, was released in April 2026 in Ireland and the UK.

Photo Credit: Louise Nealon

Sheila O'Flanagan is the author of over 30 bestselling books, including The Honeymoon Affair, which spent three months on the Irish bestseller list, What Eden Did Next, Three Weddings and a Proposal and The Missing Wife.

Sheila’s latest novel, Secrets Between Friends is an Irish bestseller. She lives in Dublin with her husband. 

Photo Credit: Sheila O'Flanagan

Katriona O’Sullivan is a Professor in the faculty of science at Maynooth University, a psychologist, speaker and award-winning author.

As one of 5 children in a home shaped by her parents' heroin addiction, Katriona's story chronicles her journey from poverty, teenage pregnancy, homelessness to graduating with a PhD from Trinity College Dublin and becoming an award-winning lecturer whose work challenges barriers to education.

Her memoir, Poor, which captures her journey was an international bestseller. It sold over 250,000 copies, was translated into over seven languages, and was adapted into a critically acclaimed theatre production by The Gate in Ireland. Her new best-selling memoir, Hungry, is available to buy now.

Photo Credit: Emily Quinn

Eva Pau presents Eva Pau’s Asian Kitchen on RTÉ One and her cookbook, Eva Pau’s Asian Cookbook: 80 Vibrant Recipes for Every Day has just been published. Through her TV show and book, Eva is keen to share her passion for Asian cooking and is on a mission to make it as approachable and exciting as she feels it should be.

Photo Credit: Eva Pau

The Poetry Kiln Collective is a Leinster-based platform for contemporary spoken word and interdisciplinary performance. They host open mics and workshops, and in the last year they have toured with Mike Garry, shared a stage with David J (Bauhaus), and performed at Seamus Heaney HomePlace. 

The Kiln are David Hynes, Annie Peter, Anna D, Mikey Cullen and Caoimhe Weakliam.

Photo Credit: The Poetry Kiln Collective

Síne Quinn is a best-selling children’s writer with an MPhil in Children’s Literature. Her latest book The Faerie Isle: Tales and Traditions of Ireland’s Forgotten Folklore with Dermot Flynn, (Walker Books, 2024; US Candlewick Press, 2025) was Hodges Figgis Children’s Book of the Month, shortlisted for the KPMG CBI Awards, and longlisted for a Carnegie award for illustration. Her first book Holy Shocking Saints with Margaret Anne Suggs will be republished by Little Island Books in spring 2027. Síne is the Commissioning Editor at Merrion Press (Newbridge, Co. Kildare), and a writing facilitator with the Bookmarks Programme, TCD, and a CBI Champion of Reading and Book Doctor.

Photo Credit: Síne Quinn

Fiona Sherlock is a crime writer and journalist from Co Meath. The author of Twelve Motives for Murder, Death Visits January and Supper for Six, she was the Meath Writer-in-Residence in 2021, she is currently writing an experimental biography of Mary Lavin. She holds an MSt in Creative Writing from Cambridge University, and her prose pieces, short fiction and poetry have been published in The Irish Times, The Sunday Independent, The Telegraph, The Sunday Express, The Irish Examiner and The Guardian. 

Photo Credit: Fiona Sherlock

Frank Shouldice is a documentary maker who wrote/directed Once We Were Punks and the multi-award winning The Man Who Wanted To Fly. His work with with RTE Investigates includes Girls in Green, Milking It and Greyhounds; Running for their Lives while his radio documentary The Case That Never Was won Prix Europa in Berlin in 2016. Born in Dublin he wrote Grandpa the Sniper about his grandfather's involvement in the Easter Rising and War of Independence. He has just published his first novel Beneath the Cedar Tree (Liffey Press). 

Photo Credit: The Currency

Eoghan Smith is a writer and critic. He is the author of three novels, The Failing Heart (2018), A Provincial Death (2022) and A Mind of Winter (2024), and a book on Irish writer John Banville. He has written reviews and criticism for The Irish Examiner, Books Ireland, Literary Review, Dublin Review of Books and The Irish Times, among others.  

Photo Credit: Eoghan Smith

Born in the beautiful market town of Carrick on Suir in South Tipperary, on the borders of Waterford and Kilkenny, it was obvious, early on, that Stephen Travers was a gifted musician although, for a brief spell, he worked as a trainee insurance broker in the financial sector of The City of London. On his return to Ireland at the beginning of 1970, Stephen quickly became one of the most in-demand bass guitarists in the country and, having played with some of the most respected bands in Ireland, he accepted an offer to join Ireland’s legendary Miami Showband in 1975: the rest is history.

Stephen Travers was a founding director and the first editor of The Irish World Newspaper in Britain. He is also an author, screenwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Stephen was a special observer with Richard Moore’s charity, Children in Crossfire, in East Africa and has addressed victim support and Radicalisation Awareness Network conferences and universities across Europe on numerous occasions.

Photo Credit: Kieran Slyne

Djamel White is a writer from Dublin, Ireland. He holds an MFA from University College Dublin, and was fiction editor for the inaugural issue of the literary and art journal Profiles. He has worked as an assistant for New Island Books. He is the recipient of a Literature Bursary Award and an Agility Award from the Arts Council of Ireland.

All Them Dogs is his debut novel.

Photo Credit: Conor Horgan