Offaly County Council Arts Office is delighted to announce the four writers and poets selected for the Birr Writers Residency 2025, a flagship opportunity that supports time, space and community engagement for established and emerging literary voices.
Hosted in the beautiful surroundings of Brendan House in Birr, the residency provides artists with the ideal setting to immerse themselves in creative practice while connecting meaningfully with the region’s people, landscape and culture.
This year’s residency welcomes a diverse group of talented writers whose work spans poetry, fiction, criticism and interdisciplinary practice:
Caitríona Lane, an award-winning bilingual poet from Dublin now based in Connemara. Her work, deeply influenced by landscape, folklore and the natural world, has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies in Ireland and abroad. A recipient of residencies from Irish Writers Centre and Ealaín na Gaeltachta, Caitríona recently won the Listowel Writers’ Week Duais Fhoras na Gaeilge and is noted for her dynamic performance style and rich engagement with the Irish language.
Cristín Leach, a leading Irish art critic, author and broadcaster whose critically acclaimed memoir Negative Space was published in 2022. Her hybrid and experimental writing has appeared widely in print, on radio, and in gallery commissions. Her recent collaborative work explores the intersections of visual art, memory, voice and identity. Cristín brings to Birr a distinctive voice that bridges literary and visual culture with critical insight and emotional resonance.
Joaquín Bermejo Ortiz, a Spanish poet and physicist, whose debut poetry collection El Mundo de las flores won the 10th Valparaíso Poetry Prize in 2024. Based in Madrid, Joaquín’s work draws from his background in science, weaving poetic language with concepts from condensed matter physics. His residency will further his exploration of the intersections between scientific precision and lyrical imagination.
Sadhbh Moriarty, a bilingual writer, musician and theatre maker from Kerry now living in Cork. Her award-winning work blends the surreal and the everyday, and she has been recognised for both her dramatic and literary writing. Sadhbh’s current focus is her debut novel, supported by Skein Press. She brings to the residency a multidisciplinary approach and a commitment to storytelling that reflects contemporary Irish life with depth, wit and creativity.
The Birr Writers Residency is supported by Offaly County Council Arts Office and reflects the local authority’s commitment to nurturing artistic excellence and cultural participation across the county.
Acting Arts Officer Aleksandra Rosiak said:
“We’re thrilled to welcome this outstanding group of writers to Offaly. Their voices are distinct and exciting, and we look forward to seeing how the creative energy of Birr — and Brendan House — will support and shape their work.”
For more information on the residency, please contact: arts@offalycoco.ie