After a career in teaching spanning thirty years, Maria O’Rourke is now a dedicated writer, having completed a Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Limerick in Ireland.

She draws on her own experiences in personal, work and family life to bring out what is universal in each individual experience. Her debut novel - a work of historical fiction - is finished and will be released soon.

She has recently been awarded the Wild Atlantic Writing Award as well as being shortlisted for the Anthology Short Fiction Competition, the Farnham Flash Fiction Competition and the Liberties Press Humorous Short Story Competition. She has been published by The Blue Nib, The Ogham Stone and The Galway Review. Her story entitled ‘Mary Kelly’s Shop’ has featured on Sunday Miscellany on RTE Radio. Mother to three grown-up children, she lives in Carlow town with her husband, David.

Maria’s first book ‘Defying the Curse’ was released by Marble City Publishing on March 20th, 2024.