Orla Mackey is a writer and teacher based in Kilkenny. She studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin. Her first novel, Mouthing, was an Irish Times bestseller. Her second novel, Farrell and Son, will be published in spring 2027.

Engrossing, acerbic and brilliant. Everyone here has a tale to tell... There is a pub and there is a priest. There are secrets and lies. It is by turns funny, horrifying, and all too real... Mackey’s structure requires the reader to constantly reassess their opinions of the characters. It is a fascinating magic trick, shimmering with fractal richness... Again and again we meet a character, form an opinion, and almost immediately have that wittily torpedoed

Orla Mackey is a writer and teacher based in Kilkenny. She studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin. Her first novel, Mouthing, was an Irish Times bestseller. Her second novel, Farrell and Son, will be published in spring 2027.

Engrossing, acerbic and brilliant. Everyone here has a tale to tell... There is a pub and there is a priest. There are secrets and lies. It is by turns funny, horrifying, and all too real... Mackey’s structure requires the reader to constantly reassess their opinions of the characters. It is a fascinating magic trick, shimmering with fractal richness... Again and again we meet a character, form an opinion, and almost immediately have that wittily torpedoed