Emer McLysaght (born 1980) is an Irish journalist and co-author of the ''

Aisling The , , approximately ), or vision poem, is a mythopoeic poetic genre that developed during the late 17th and 18th centuries in Irish language poetry. The word may have a number of variations in pronunciation, but the ''is'' of the first s ...

'' series of novels.

Background

McLysaght is from

Kill, County Kildare Kill () is a village and parish in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland near the county's border with Dublin beside the N7 road (Ireland), N7. Its population was recorded as 3,818 people in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. Kill ...

. After secondary school, she attended

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, where she studied

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

for a short time. In 2003, she switched courses to a

Higher National Diploma Higher National Diploma (HND), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is an academic higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and various other countries. They were introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongside th ...

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

at Ballyfermot College of Further Education where she met her friend and future co-author Sarah Breen. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in media production from

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...

, obtaining

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

. In 2012, McLysaght completed a Master's degree in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

, again achieving first class honours. She dedicated her first book to her late father, who died in 2008.

Career

McLysaght began her media career as a newsreader and reporter at Kfm radio station in 2004, moving to

Newstalk Newstalk (formerly NewsTalk 106) is a national independent radio station in Ireland. It is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Bauer Media Audio Ireland, and broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract with the Broadcasting Aut ...

radio for a brief period in 2006. Later in 2006, she moved to Phantom 105.2 where she was news editor for four years. She has also worked as a freelance journalist for the

Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...

, the Leinster Leader, Radio Nova, and

Today FM Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a licen ...

. In 2011, she joined TheJournal.ie before being promoted to deputy editor at TheDailyEdge.ie in 2013 and editor in 2017. In March 2017, McLysaght left her editorial role and became a full-time author. She is a regular columnist for

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

''Aisling'' novels

McLysaght and Breen co-created a comedic character named ''Aisling'', establishing a Facebook fan group that grew to more than 45,000 members. As ''Aisling'' gained in popularity they were approached by publishers and decided to write a novel. As of 2021, the series consists of four books, with a further final book planned. The first three books were bestsellers and sold over 300,000 copies. They are published by

Gill Books Gill is an independent publisher and distributor based in Dublin, Ireland. History In 1856, Michael Henry Gill, printer for Dublin University, purchased the publishing and bookselling business of James McGlashan, and the company was renamed M ...

and

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

Personal life

McLysaght has spoken publicly about her mental health and use of counselling. On

The Ryan Tubridy Show ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' is a mid-morning talk radio show, presented by Ryan Tubridy each weekday on Virgin Radio UK and simultaneously broadcast on Dublin's Q102 from 10am to 1pm, since January 2024. Tubridy also presents a dedicated Irish we ...

she discussed her experiences dealing with an

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's health, physical or mental health, mental health. These behaviors may include eating too much food or too little food. Types of eatin ...

which began when she was a teenager. She underwent treatment as an in-patient at St Patrick's psychiatric hospital in Dublin from January to March 2020.

Awards

* 2019

Irish Book Awards The Irish Book Awards are Irish literary awards given annually to books and authors in various categories. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. The primary sponsor is An Post, the state owned postal service in Ireland ...

Popular Fiction Book of the Year – ''Once, Twice, Three Times an Aisling'' * 2018 Irish Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year – ''The Importance of Being Aisling'' *2021 Irish Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year – ''Aisling and the City''

Bibliography

* ''Aisling and The City'' (2021) * ''Once, Twice, Three Times An Aisling'' (2019) * ''The Importance of Being Aisling'' (2019) * ''Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling'' (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLysaght, Emer Living people 1980 births Alumni of Dublin City University Writers from County Kildare People from Kill, County Kildare