Aoife Dooley (born 14 April 1991), is an Irish writer, illustrator, comedian and graphic designer.

Life

A North

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

er, Dooley has lived in

Ballymun Ballymun () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was ...

and

Coolock Coolock () is a large suburban area, centred on a village, on Dublin city's Northside (Dublin), Northside in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Coolock is crossed by the Santry River, a prominent feature in the middle of the district, with a linear ...

for most of her life. Her father left when she was young and her mother remarried. She has a younger sister. Dooley's mother died when she was twenty two and although she did regain a relationship with her father, he died in 2017. Dooley was diagnosed as

autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

in 2018 which she has credited with allowing her to feel more like herself and then include the awareness and acceptance into her work. She studied in

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological Un ...

, she also studied graphic design in Colaiste Dhulaigh. Her books and illustrations are based on everyday observations of life in Dublin. Her illustrations (which are based on her books) have been turned into an animated TV series for

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

starring Al Foran,

Emmet Kirwan Emmet Kirwan is an Irish actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is known for starring in RTÉ2's Sarah & Steve and for writing and starring in the 2015 play, and 2018 movie version of ''Dublin Oldschool''. Other credits include parts in ''Ella En ...

, Jen Hatton and Enya Martin. Dooley also performs live and has appeared at

Electric Picnic Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority shareholding in ...

and

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

Comedy Festival. For only her second gig she was performing on PJ Gallagher's tour. She won ''U Magazines 30 under 30 award for best comedian in 2017. Her first book for children won The Specsavers Children's Book of the Year. Dooley was also selected for the game changers award at the

Irish Tatler Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

women of the year awards. Dooley speaks publicly covering a number of topics including on creativity. She has been a guest speaker on OFFSET in 2016 and 2018 in the

Bord Gáis Energy Theatre The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (originally the Grand Canal Theatre) is a performing arts venue, located in the Docklands of Dublin, Ireland. It is Ireland's largest fixed-seat theatre. It was designed by Daniel Libeskind for the DDDA, built by ...

. Dooley also creates prints, jewelry and badges which she sells online.

Irish exam

In 2019, Dooley's work was used as the basis for a question in the Irish

Junior Cert Junior Cycle ( ga, An tSraith Shóisearach ) is the first stage of the education programme for post-primary education within the Republic of Ireland. It is overseen by the State Examinations Commission of the Department of Education (Ireland), ...

English exam. Afterwards Dooley came under attack online as a result and was subjected to abuse and threats.

Selected works

* How to Be Massive (2016) * How to Deal with Poxes on a Daily Basis (2017) * 123 Ireland! (2019) * Frankie's World (2022) * ABC Ireland! (2022)

References and sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dooley, Aoife 1991 births Living people People from Coolock Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology Comedians from Dublin (city) 21st-century Irish comedians Irish women comedians 21st-century Irish women writers 21st-century Irish artists 21st-century Irish women artists People on the autism spectrum Artists with autism