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 ‘Sweep The Cobwebs Off The Sky’ will be published in the UK by Époque Press in March 2026.

Her latest novel Sweep The Cobwebs Off The Sky was published in the UK by Époque Press on the 19h March 2026.

Praise for Sweep the Cobwebs off the Sky

‘Sweep the Cobwebs Off the Sky is a subtle, intricate and thoughtful study of life, of the painful process of ageing, of sibling rivalry and the vicissitudes of family. I have no doubt it will be a success with reviewers and readers alike.’

John Banville, author of Booker Prize winning, The Sea.

‘This is a profound novel about the life of a dutiful daughter, caring for her once beautiful, charming mother – now suffering from dementia in her old age. The complex relationships of mother and daughter, and of sisters, are explored with compassion and sharp psychological insight. Perfectly drawn characters, lyrical but lucid writing, and above all an understanding of the love and hate, patience and intolerance, which can bind or destroy families, render this Mary O’Donnell’s finest novel. Seldom has the role of the daughter as carer for the aged parent been so subtly and honestly portrayed. It’s a masterpiece.’

Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, Laureate of Irish Fiction.

‘A piercing exploration of the immemorial themes: family, memory and the desire to investigate the mystery of what holds us together.’

Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin.

‘Absorbing, meditative, and deeply attentive to the power of place – and to the long shadows that memory casts across our lives.’

Neil Hegarty: author of Inch Levels and The Jewel.

‘Sweep the Cobwebs Off the Sky is a brilliant study of the blighted relationships within a family. In scenes that are deeply moving, and in moments that can veer from the tender to the tempestuous, it evokes the extreme feelings, vulnerabilities and contradictions of love that exist in all families. More than anything, O’Donnell captures, with vim and verve, the sometimes brutal love between a mother and daughter.’

Mary Costello, author of The Irish Times Bestseller, Barcelona.

‘An intimate and searingly honest book that surely will stand amongst the very best of Irish novels.’

Christine Dwyer Hickey, Author of The Narrow Land