Kerri ní Dochartaigh (born 1983)
is a Northern Irish writer known for her
nature writings. She has published in ''
The Guardian'', ''
The Irish Times'' and elsewhere, and her debut book ''Thin Places'' was shortlisted for the
Wainwright Prize in 2021.
Biography
ní Dochartaigh was born in 1983 in
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
in Northern Ireland, near the
Irish border
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 ...
.
Her mother was Catholic and her father Protestant, and when she was aged 11, living in the
Waterside area, their home was
petrol-bombed in the night. The family moved to a Catholic area, and then out of the town to
Ballykelly, 20 miles away.
When she was 16, a boy she was friends with was murdered an hour after she had seen him, and his murderer has not been identified.
She read English Literature and Classics at
Trinity College Dublin. She then taught for periods in
Rudolf Steiner schools in
Edinburgh and
Bristol.
Writing career
ní Dochartaigh has published in ''
The Guardian'', ''
The Irish Times'', ''
Winter Papers'',
''
Caught By The River
"Caught by the River" is the third single from English rock band Doves' second studio album, '' The Last Broadcast'' (2002). The single was released on 14 October 2002 in the UK and charted at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video ...
''
and elsewhere,
Her 2021 book ''Thin Places'' was published by
Canongate Books after a six-way contest between publishers.
It is "a mixture of memoir, history and
nature writing" and describes "a wild Ireland, an invisible border, an old conflict and the healing power of the natural world".
''Thin Places'' was shortlisted for the 2021
Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing,
and won the Butler Literary Award for 2022 from the
Irish American Cultural Institute.
In March 2021 ní Dochartaigh featured in
BBC Radio 4's series ''The Outsiders'': "Five writers on how a year of lockdowns has changed their relationship with the nature on their doorstep",
and in August 2021 she appeared at the
Edinburgh International Book Festival, online, along with composer and writer
Kerry Andrew.
In 2023, ní Dochartaigh published ''Cacophony of bone'', which chronicles her life in a remote cottage in central Ireland from 2019 to 2020. It was longlisted for the
Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing
The Wainwright Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of general outdoors, nature and UK-based travel writing. In 2020 it was split into the Wainwright Prize for UK nature writing and the Wainwright Prize for writing on glob ...
.
Personal life
she lives "in an old railway cottage in the very heart of Ireland" with her partner and her dog.
Selected publications
Books
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*
Other writings
*
*
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References
1983 births
Living people
21st-century women writers from Northern Ireland
British nature writers
Date of birth missing (living people)
{{UK-writer-stub