David Butler is an Irish writer whose previous novel City of Dis, published by New Island, was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year in 2015. He has a passion for acting, directing, as well as set-building for theatre. His insomnia often fills the small hours with phrases and voices which grow slowly into characters, scenes, and stories. His forthcoming short story collection, Fugitive, is soon to be published by Arlen House. He currently lives in Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Madeline Beach Carey, recipient of several writing awards and fellowships, is the author of the story collection Les filles dels altres. She has been writing since approximately the age of eight and believes that daily rituals are key to channeling inspiration. Currently, Carey teaches at the Irish Writers Centre and is finishing her first novel. These days she writes from her Barcelona rooftop.
Shaw Chard is a Canadian artist who has been writing on and off for as long as she can remember. Her inspiration is derived mostly from the people and connections in her life. She feels grateful to the people in her life and especially to her late mother, who passed in 2016, who will always represent a guiding light to her. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter on @shawchard. She is currently based in Belfast.
Mary Coen is an artist and photographer, hailing from Ballina. She received her BA in Visual Arts Practice from Dun Laoghaire IADT in 2009, specialising in painting originally. She expanded into photography in 2011, before combining both disciplines to create multimedia images which has been her practice since. Follow her art and photography on Instagram @marycoenart, and @marycoenphotography. She is currently based in Mayo.
Jenny Darmody is a journalist and deputy editor of sci-tech news site, Silicon Republic. Her previous publications appear in The Galway Review, Sonder Magazine and Honey & Lime. She takes inspiration from her writing group, Writers Ink, and from her job to combine sci-fi elements into her work. Jenny was one of four Young Writer Delegates at the Dublin Book Festival in 2018. Follow the Meath-based writer on Twitter @Jenny_Darmody.
Eilis de Faoite graduated from the National College of Art & Design, Dublin in 1990. She was awarded a Henry Moore Scholarship and undertook an MA in Sculpture Studies at University of Leeds. Her work in education, which primarily focused on the more marginalised learners in society, led to a range of professional roles. Her work reflects the vulnerability, fragility and resilience of humans, in response to grief, loss and longing. Follow her on Instagram @eilis_de_faoite.
Damien B. Donnelly is a poet whose time is split between hosting and producing the Eat the Storms poetry podcast, painting, and making very good carrot cake. His two poetry collections, Eat the Storms and Stickleback, are both published by The Hedgehog Press. You can follow him on Instagram @damiboy, Twitter @deuxiemepeau, or TikTok @eatthestorms.
Alison Driscoll holds a BA English and MA Creative Writing from UCC where she received the title of College Scholar. Her work has been featured online and in print. She is the current Writer in Residence at the Molly Keane House. She is a workshop facilitator and regular reader at national Arts events. You can stay up to date with her on Twitter @AlisonDriscoll5.
Daniel Durand is a queer writer hailing from Co. Wicklow. They are a great admirer of Alice Oswald, Seamus Heaney, and Ocean Vuong. Their work is themed around the idea of relationships and the connections that they bring. They currently live in Dublin where they are studying for a degree in journalism at DCU. Follow their poetry journey on Instagram @daniels_poem and Twitter @daniels_poems.
Stuart Flynn was born in Australia to Irish parents. Creativity is hugely important to him as he has been a jazz musician his entire life, and has been writing seriously for twenty years. He is inspired by the natural world, and his poetry reflects that. His poems have appeared in Cyphers and Abridged. You can follow him on Twitter @scyflynn, or @flynnsc on Instagram. He currently lives in Dublin.
Bernadette Gallagher is a Cork-based poet who has been writing since she was a teenager. Her inspiration lies in gardening, cycling, and being in nature. She believes cutting briars is the perfect meditation. A selection of her work has been recorded by the University College Dublin Poetry Archive, and she has been invited to read her work in Ireland, UK, US, and at the Sahitya Akademi in New Delhi, India. Follow her on Twitter @cornagcat.
Sophie Greer-Sanders grew up on the shores of Lough Derg, and works in the Graphics department of an archaeology company in Wicklow, producing maps. Her poetry and her work in this regard share the common themes of tracing the origins of human connections. Her work has been featured in in the anthology of new Tipperary Writing, Vessel of Voices. You can follow her on Instagram @sophie_sanders_poet.
Áine Hayden is a photographer, and most of her work has been taken while travelling around Ireland in a VW camper with her family for the past nineteen years. Her work draws on the quietly heroic, yet sometimes lonely landscapes and people of Ireland. Her postcards have appeared in The Winding Stair Book Shop and in the Dublin Food Co-op. You can follow her photography on Instagram @ainehayden.
Conor Horgan is a self-taught photographer and filmmaker (most recently with The Queen of Ireland, 2015). He was artist in residence in the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris in 2017 – and subsequently stayed on in Paris for two years. His portrait work there led to En Résidence, a commission to make a permanent installation in the Irish Cultural Centre of 18 large-scale portraits of former artists-in-residence which will open to the public in November.
Eleanor Hulm a.k.a. ‘LNR’ is an visual artist with a background in Physics. She draws her inspiration from the intersections between art, science, music, technology, nature and activism. As for her technique, she is still experimenting with styles to find her place in the art-world.
Ciara Colette Hurley is a fine art photographer. Her greatest interests in life are spirituality, meditation, and spending time in nature. As a child and in her teenage years, she suffered abuse which she has learned to overcome through her spiritual practice and artistic outlet. She says “the emotional alchemy I have carried out since has been my inspiration.” Follow her journey @ciaracolette.fineart on Instagram. She is currently based in Co. Cork.
Linda Ibbotson is a poet, artist and photographer from the UK, currently residing in Co. Cork. Her wanderlust and love of classical piano has taken her around the world to photograph events. Her work has been published internationally, including in The Irish Times, Irish Examiner, Poethead, and more. Most invaluably, she finds listening to other poets a great inspiration. She writes a poetry and arts blog: ‘Contemplating the Muse.’ Follow her on Instagram @lindaibbotsonpoet and Twitter @lindaibbotson
Rimma Islamgalieva graduated from the Moscow State University of Print Arts with a degree in book graphics, and worked as a freelancer before becoming a mom and moving to Ireland (where she’s heard mythical creatures live). Now learning Irish, her hope is to clean up Phoenix Park to invite the fairies back. Follow her creative journey on Instagram @selkie_wife, or follow her Flickr @unari to read her book of Irish fairy tales. She currently lives in Dublin.
Lucia Kent grew up between Calabria, Italy, and Waterford. Having two languages has made writing a mainstay of her life, and her connection to writing has been so strong over the years that it feels like a reflex. Her inspiration doesn’t come in lightning-strikes but in banks of mist whose origin and duration are hard to judge – all that is certain is that she’ll need some paper and a pen. She is captivated by birds, plants, and the sea, because they always bring her to nostalgic realms. She’s currently based in Co. Cork.
Aisling Larkin is a freelance photographer based in Dublin. She has been working in the medium for five years and has recently branched out into the world of 35mm film photography. Her work tends to focus on magical moments in nature and the often overlooked beauty in everyday life. Follow her Instagram @aisling_larkin.
Orlaith Lowry is an illustrator from Sligo. Pre-pandemic, travel and experiencing other cultures is what made her happy. Now, her favourite place to be is Strandhill, Sligo. Nothing cheers her up more than a walk on the beach. Colour is what inspires her to draw; the warm harmonious feeling of stained glass windows are always floating around her head, and she hopes to emulate them. Follow her work on Instagram @ulla_designs.
Jaki McCarrick is an award-winning writer of plays, poetry and fiction. On the basis of her debut collection, Jaki was longlisted in 2014 for the inaugural Irish Fiction Laureate. Her play The Naturalists premiered in 2018 in New York to rave reviews. Jaki is currently working on her second collection of short fiction and her first novel. She currently lives in Dundalk. Follow her on Instagram @jaki_mac.
Kiera McCarrick. To protect her privacy Bealtaine have not published any biographical information.
Siobhán McLaughlin is an English graduate and writer from Co. Donegal. Her inspiration is derived from moments of emotional magnitude which only poetry can capture. Her poems have been published in The Honest Ulsterman, The Ekphrastic Review, and Drawn to the Light. She is a creative writing facilitator and creative arts enthusiast. Follow her on Twitter @siobhan347.
Calvin McManus is a graduate of Applied Music at Dundalk Institute of Technology. He has spent the last five years in Dundalk within the music scene performing, writing and teaching music. He is currently a member of independent Irish band ‘Priorland’ to which he devotes his songwriting and performance energies. He currently lives in Co. Cavan.
Roisin Ní Neachtain is an emerging autistic poet and artist based in Co. Kildare. Her work hopes to reduce memories and perceptions of landscapes down to simple shapes, marks and “shadows” using a limited colour palette. Her paintings have previously appeared in Ropes, Indelible, Beir Bua and Drawn to the Light. She is currently working on her first collection of poetry. Follow her on Twitter @starsandmud.
Róisín Nolan a.k.a. Roosh Mulan, is a multi-disciplinary creative from Dublin. Analog collage is the answer to airing her frustrations with social, gender and political norms. Having lived in Vancouver for two years, she felt artistically renewed, and began constructing collages from an intersectional feminist lens that are critical of the Irish government, capitalism, and Catholicism. Follow her on Instagram @rooshmulan.
Niamh O’Connell holds an MA in Writing Poetry from Newcastle University. She believes in the power an hour-long daily walk can confer to commune with nature, and she hopes to impart this in her work. She has previously been published in UCC’s The Quarryman. She currently resides in Cork.
Aghogho Sophie Okpara is a writer whose work is inspired by the values of pursuing justice, equality and true self-expression. Most of her inspiration to write comes to her from Jesus and his teachings. She has a passion for content creation, whether that’s on the blog she has kept for the last ten years, or shooting and producing videos for her YouTube channel It’s Aghogho. Follow her Instagram @itsaghogho.
Ger O’Malley is originally from Dublin but now lives in a railway cottage near Miltown Malbay in west Clare. He has always been an avid reader, and finds the thought-provoking aspect of a tantalisingly good story which lingers with you long after you’ve finished reading it to be one of the most motivating reasons to write. He has co-written a play called Stages, been writing songs for thirty years, and is currently developing a film idea around a story of mythological Ireland.
Jennifer O’Neill Kaan is an Irish poet, singer and teacher from Louth, and has lived in Sussex, England for ten years. She has stolen moments between singing in the band, Caveau, and the happy chaos of raising her two boys, to write. Her poetry seeks to explore questions of identity, parent-child relationships and the weight of history. Follow her on Instagram @jenniferkaan.
Nathanael O’Reilly is an Irish-Australian residing in Texas, and has been writing for more than thirty years. His most recent books include (Un)belonging and BLUE. More than 200 of his poems have appeared in journals & anthologies published in thirteen countries. Follow him on Instagram @nathanael_73 and Twitter @nathanael_o.
Alexandra Pud is a Russian graphic designer, and illustrator who has been based in Dublin for the last three years. She was inspired by Steve Simpson, an Irish illustrator, who compared Moscow’s industrial landscape to Dublin, and with that she decided she’d like to see it for herself. She has more than ten years experience in multiple scopes as a visual designer. Follow her on Instagram @alexandrapud.
Grace Sampson is a poet from Co. Limerick who invokes Irishness and growth within her work. She had a selection of poems published in The Galway Review, and is a collaborator on an upcoming book on the experimentalism of Thom Gunn. Her inspiration comes from friends, her psyche, and the Irish nature. She is working on her first collection of poetry.
Ruth Seavers is a twenty-nine year old baby writer living with her girlfriend in Dublin. A Media, Culture & Journalism graduate, she has a keen interest in all things pop culture of both high and low brow. She finds the dichotomy between both brows of particular interest. Fond of cheese.
Annemarie Stanley is an artist who grew up in New York, was educated in Ireland, and is now based in Cork city where she has a studio. Her technique of fusing legal texts with oil paintings aims to explore the effect of law on society. She is currently working on a series to be exhibited in Germany in 2021. You can follow her on Instagram @a.stanleyartist or check out her website www.astanleyartist.com.
Thady Trá has found solace this past year in printing his work in his darkroom in Clonakilty, Co. Cork. His photos have been featured in The West Cork People, Irish Times, and Irish Examiner. He always has at least some sort of camera by his side, be it film or digital, but one place he always finds himself taking photos is the beach. Follow him on Instagram @thadytraphoto.
