Originally from Dublin, Moya Roddy lives in a small cottage on an acre of land at the edge of Connemara. Her garden is visited by lots of wildlife – badgers, foxes, hares, pheasants, shrews, kestrels and when it’s cold enough, owls. The Dark Art of Darning is her second poetry collection. Her debut collection Out of the Ordinary (Salmon, 2018) was shortlisted for the Strong Shine Award. She also won a New Irish Writing Award, was highly commended at the Patrick Kavanagh Awards and shortlisted for the Hennessy Award. She has published two novels – The Long Way Home described in the Irish Times as “simply brilliant” and A Wiser Girl (Wordsonthestreet 2020). Her collection of short stories Other People (Wordsonthestreet) was nominated for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and Fire in my Head (Culture Matters) was published in 2021. Moya attended the National College of Art before leaving Ireland for Italy where she painted for a couple of years. After moving to London she trained as a television director. Que Sera Sera which she wrote and directed won a Sony Award in 1984 and in 1985 the British Film Institute commissioned her first full-length feature film. Several of her screenplays have been optioned in the United States and she has worked for Channel 4, BBC, Scottish Television and RTE. A radio play Dance Ballerina Dance was shortlisted for the P.J. O’Connor Award and along with her partner Pete Mullineaux she co-wrote two plays for Galway Youth Theatre and the radio play Butterfly Wings for RTE. Returning to college she completed a Portfolio Course in Art at GTI in 2005; and was awarded an MA in Writing from NUIG in 2008. She has been facilitating Meditation at Brigit’s Garden for the last twenty years – everyone welcome.
