Éilís Ní Dhuibhne facts for kids

Éilís Ní Dhuibhne (born 22 February 1954) is a well-known Irish writer. She writes exciting stories, novels, and plays. Éilís writes in both the Irish language and English. She has won many important awards for her work.

About Éilís Ní Dhuibhne

Éilís Ní Dhuibhne was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1954. She went to University College Dublin (UCD) for her studies. There, she learned a lot about English literature and folklore. Folklore is the study of traditional stories, customs, and beliefs.

Her Studies and Work

In 1978, Éilís also studied at the Folklore Institute in the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. She earned her PhD in Folklore in 1982. While in Denmark, she learned a lot about women's rights and equality.

Éilís has worked in different interesting places. She worked at UCD and for many years as a curator at the National Library of Ireland. A curator helps look after collections of books and other items. She also teaches people how to write creatively. She has been a Writer Fellow at Trinity College Dublin and UCD.

Her Family Life

Éilís Ní Dhuibhne was married to a Swedish folklorist named Bo Almqvist. They were married for 30 years. Sadly, he passed away in 2013. Éilís has two children, Ragnar and Olaf. She wrote a book called Twelve Thousand Days: A Memoir of Love and Loss. This book is about her life with her husband.

Awards and Recognition

Éilís Ní Dhuibhne has received many awards for her writing. These awards show how much her stories are loved and respected.

• 1985 Listowel Poetry Award
• Oireachtas Awards for a play and novels
• Butler Prose Award (American Association of Irish Studies)
• Bisto Merit Awards for her children's books, The Hiring Fair and Hurlamaboc.
• Bisto Book of the Year Award for Blaeberry Sunday.
• 1986 Arts Council Bursaries
• 1998 Arts Council Bursaries
• 1997 BBC Irish Language Award
• 2000 She was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction for her novel The Dancers Dancing. This is a very important award for women writers.
• 2014 Hennessy Literature Award
• 2015 Irish PEN Award
• 2019 BBC Irish Language Award

Her Books and Plays

Éilís Ní Dhuibhne has written many different types of books. She writes novels for adults, short story collections, and books especially for children. She has also written plays.

Novels in English

• The Bray House (1990)
• Singles (1994)
• The Dancers Dancing (1999)
• Fox, Swallow, Scarecrow (2007)
• Sister Caravaggio (2014)

Novels in Irish

• Dúnmharú sa Daingean (2001)
• Cailíní Beaga Ghleann na mBláth (2003)
• Hurlamaboc (2005)
• Dún an Airgid (2008)
• Dordán (2011)
• Aisling nó Iníon A (2015)

Collections of Short Stories

• Blood and Water (1988)
• Eating Women Is Not Recommended (1991)
• The Inland Ice (1997)
• The Pale Gold of Alaska (2000)
• Midwife to the Fairies (2003)
• The Shelter of Neighbours (2012)
• Little Red and Other Stories (2020)

Books for Children

• The Uncommon Cormorant (1990)
• Hugo and the Sunshine Girl (1991)
• The Hiring Fair (1992)
• Blaeberry Sunday (1993)
• Penny Farthing Sally (1996)
• The Sparkling Rain (2004)
• Snobs, Dogs and Scobies (2011)

Plays She Wrote

• Dún na mBan Trí Thine (first performed in 1995)
• Milseog an tSamhraidh (first performed in 1996)
• The Nettle Shirts (first performed in 1998)

Her Memoir

• Twelve Thousand Days: A Memoir of Love and Loss (2018)