Celia de Fréine writes in many genres in both Irish and English. Born in Newtownards, County Down, she now divides her time between Dublin and Connemara. Awards for her poetry include the Patrick Kavanagh Award and Gradam Litríochta Chló Iar-Chonnacht. To date she has published eight collections, the most recent of which are cuir amach seo dom : riddle me this (Arlen House, 2014), Blood Debts (Scotus Press, 2014) and A lesson in Can’t (Scotus Press, 2014). Her plays have won numerous Oireachtas awards and are performed regularly.

Her film and television scripts have won awards in Ireland and America. Her screenplay for the film Marathon was given the award for best screenplay at the New York International Film Festival in 2009. The short film Rian : Trace which she conceived and wrote was given the award for best international narrative short at the same festival in 2010.

Ceannródaí (LeabhairCOMHAR, 2018) her biography of Louise Gavan Duffy won ACIS Duais Leabhar Taighde na Bliana (2019) and was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards (2018) and Gradam Uí Shuilleabháin (2019). Cur i gCéill, her first thriller, was published by LeabhairCOMHAR in 2019. 

Photo credit: 'Le caoinchead thogra Phortráidí na Scríbhneoirí Gaeilge.