Independence day for Roisín O'Donnell
A story by Navan-based writer Róisín O’Donnell will feature on RTE Radio 1's 'Spoken Stories' Independence series this Sunday, 21st March.
The series commissioned a new collection of short fiction under a common theme by some of Ireland’s most acclaimed and award-winning fiction writers.
The contributing writers include Anne Enright, Neil Jordan, Mary Costello, Kevin Barry and Danielle McLaughlin. While some of the writers read their own stories other stories are read by actors including Saoirse Ronan, Stephen Rea and Eileen Walsh.
The story collection originates from a consideration of independence, a hundred years after Ireland's War for Independence. In this way, Spoken Stories Independence is a RTÉ landmark contribution to Ireland's ongoing Decade of Centenaries. Together, the stories illustrate how an idea can be so variously and entertainingly interpreted. The themes, styles and voices of the stories are as different from each other as the writers involved. Without intention, the spread of years in the stories literally spans across a hundred years from 1938 to 2038.
O’Donnell's work is read by Siobhán McSweeney, probably best known for her role as Sister Michael in 'Derry Girls' and currently presenting the Channel 4 hit 'The Great Pottery Throw Down'. In 'Present Perfect', Ciara, a mother living in emergency accommodation in a Dublin hotel with her two children, sees herself as a total failure. But things are about to take a turn one October day, when her three-year-old daughter presents her with a seemingly impossible task.
A graduate of Trinity College Dublin and the University of Ulster, O'Donnell’s stories have been published internationally, featuring in The Stinging Fly, The Irish Times and elsewhere. Two of her stories were selected for inclusion in major anthologies of Irish women's writing 'The Long Gaze Back' (2015) and 'The Glass Shore' (2016), both of which won Best Irish-Published Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards.
She has been shortlisted for many international awards, and in 2018 she won an Irish Book Award when her short story ‘How to Build a Space Rocket’ was voted Short Story of the Year. In 2020 she was awarded a major Literature Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland.
Roisín O'Donnell’s parents come from Derry city, and she grew up in Sheffield, now living in Navan. She has two young children, and works in the field of education. She is currently writing her first novel.
Spoken Stories Indeopendence continues on Sunday evenings at 7pm until 28th March, featuring one new story each week.
All stories are also available as a podcast via RTÉ Culture on www.rte.ie/radio1/spoken-stories/