About the Author

Mary Shine Thompson formerly lectured at St Patrick’s College Drumcondra, Dublin City University. Her PhD is in Anglo-Irish Literature. She was called to the bar in 2016 and is a board member of Fire Station Arts Studios and of Restorative Justice Services. Recent publications include ‘Westmeath: literary “stories so far”’ in Westmeath: History and Society, and Skelligs Haul by Michael Kirby (ed.). She is a former chair of Poetry Ireland, the national organisation connecting poetry and people.