Not to be confused with Michael Harding (soccer).
Michael Harding (born 1953) is an Irish writer.
Biography
Harding was born and raised in Cavan, Ireland. He went to St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, initially graduating as a lay graduate. He then taught for two years in St. Patrick's College in Cavan Town, then worked as a social worker in a prison. He returned to Maynooth as a seminarian and was ordained in 1980, after which he went to work in a parish in Fermanagh. He left the priesthood in 1985, then spent seventeen years practising Buddhism.
He is married to the sculptor Cathy Carman (whom he first met in 1984) and they have a daughter Sophia and a son, Simon. He lives in Tarmon, County Leitrim.
Work
He is an active writer of novels and poetry. He is a regular columnist with The Irish Times. He was Writer in Association with The Abbey Theatre in 1993 and was Writer in Residence at Trinity College Dublin, in 1999.
Awards
- 1989 - shortlisted for the Irish Times Aer Lingus Literature Award
- 1990 - Stewart Parker Trust Award for Theatre
- 1990 - Bank of Ireland RTÉ award for excellence in the arts
- 1980 - Hennessy Literary Award for short stories
- 2004 - Best Actor, Dublin Fringe Festival for his performance in Gare St Lazare's production of Swallow.
- 2006 - Nominated Best Actor in a Supporting Role – British Theatre Management Awards
- 2007 - The Tinker's Curse, nominated for Best New Play at the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards
- 2013 - Staring at Lakes, Non-Fiction Book of the Year Irish Book Awards
- 2000 - Member, Aosdána, Irish National Academy for Creative Artists
