Since 2001 she is a member of Ireland’s affiliation of artists, Aosdána.

Her published fiction also includes the novels ‘The Elysium Testament’ and ‘Where They Lie’.

Her poetry collection ‘Massacre of the Birds’ has been published in Brazil, where her work forms part of the Irish Studies programme. Her poetry is also translated to Spanish and Hungarian. In 2023 she received an An Post/Irish Book Award for her political poem ‘Vectors in Kabul’.

Her essay “My Mother in Drumlin Country”, published in New Hibernia Review during 2017, was listed among the Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction of 2017 in Best American Essays (Mariner).

A collection of essays on O’Donnell’s work appeared during 2018: Giving Shape to the Moment: the Art of Mary O’Donnell, Poet, Novelist, Short-story Writer (Peter Lang), with contributions from Spanish and Irish academics and writers.

In May 2025 a new short fiction collection, ‘Walking Ghosts’ was published by Mercier Press, and her translated short stories in Spanish—‘Nomadas’—will appear in Argentina next year.

In 2026 Wake Forest University Press (USA) will publish her ninth poetry collection, ‘Tenderness’.

Her latest novel ‘The Good Daughter’ will be published in the UK by Époque Press in late 2026.