Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha is a poet whose work resonates deeply with themes of identity, embodiment, and the transformative power of art. Born in 1994, she was raised in the Laggan area of East Donegal, close to the border with the North of Ireland. She writes poetry exclusively in Irish, exploring the nature of language, the writing of poetry itself, folklore and mythology from Ireland and abroad, gender, and the identity of the muse. She has a particular interest in visual art, the imagery and figures of Catholicism, as well as the Irish literary tradition.
She has published two poetry collections in Irish, both with Barzaz, Solas Geimhridh agus Dánta Eile (2023) and Mainistir na Feola (2025). St Lucy and the Eye Doctor / San Luíseach agus Lia na Súl is her first Irish-English dual language edition, and draws on both those collections as well as later work. Her translator Ellen Corbett ? who comes from just the other side of the border ? won the Stephen Spender Prize in 2024 for her translation of Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha's poem 'Scrúdú' ('Exam'), which is included in this book.
A QR code is included in the book linking to an online video of Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha reading her poetry in Irish and English.
Autorentext
Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha was born in 1994 and raised in the Laggan in East Donegal, close to the border with the North of Ireland. She now lives in the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway. She is Arts Council Writer in Residence at Dublin City University (DCU) for 2026. She has published two poetry collections in Irish, both with Barzaz, Solas Geimhridh agus Dánta Eile (2023) and Mainistir na Feola (2025). The first dual language Irish-English edition of her poetry, St Lucy and the Eye Doctor / San Luíseach agus Lia na Súl, translated by Ellen Corbett, drawing on her first and second Irish collections plus later work, is published by Bloodaxe Books in 2027.
Ellen Corbett is a translator and Irish-language scholar from Cookstown, County Tyrone ? just over the border from County Donegal. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in German and Léann an Aistriúcháin (Irish Translation Studies), and a Master's in Translation Studies. In 2024 she won the Stephen Spender Prize for her translation of Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha's poem 'Scrúdú' ('Exam').
(Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha is pronounced Lee?Shuk?Nee?Kosh?tel?ah.)