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Michelle McDonagh

@mcdonagh.michelle

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Bestselling Irish author | Shortlisted A Post Irish Book Awards 2024 | Books podcaster | Cohost of @natterwithkateandmichelle

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Congratulations to all of our authors shortlisted for this years An Post Irish Book Awards! 📚📚

You can vote for your favourites through the link in our bio. Voting closes on 13th November.

@irishbookawards #APIBA #StoriesMakeUs

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Usual Suspects at Murder One 2026.
Purely for my amusement but I somehow managed to talk my fellow panelist’s into shenanigans in the green room again this year, posing as the Usual Suspects crew -
Bray, Coffey, Harrington and McDonagh.
Keep swiping to see the Usual Suspects crew from 2025 - Harrington, Sullivan, McDonagh and McGilloway.
Photos all courtesy of the lovely Ger Holland. Love that she captured us laughing cos’ often photos on stage look so serious! Oh and there is bonus footage at the end of Ger at work, taken by Catherine!
This is my last event of 2026, it’s head down and write, write, write!
Thanks Murder One. That was so much fun!
#murderone #usualsuspects #thriller #crimefiction

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I fell down a bit in my reel-making duties at this year's @murderonefest because I failed to capture video evidence of many of the murdery faces that descended on Dun Laoghaire - but here's what *did* end up on my camera roll. Congrats to the entire @murderonefest team on another fabulous weekend of great chats and great reads. My personal highlights included getting to interrogate @janecaseyauthor and @andreamaraauthor, our traditional visit to Karen's Kitchen (brought to you by @karenperrywrites), @_antoniolanzetta_'s stories, our panel on first lines that wasn't really about first lines at all, seeing the FEAR anthology finally out in the world and rearranging all the chairs in the Royal Marine lobby two nights in a row.

Roll on M1 2027!

PS. Literally made this on the bus home

PPS. #notanad Insta, just a recap!

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The power of a writing community should never be underestimated. 
Writers Ink is seven years old now and one of the loveliest things about last night’s launch of the FEAR anthology was catching up with some of our Inkers, including former member Michelle McDonagh, who contributed to the anthology and now has four published books to her name.

It’s wonderful to see how far writers have come and to see the friendships and connections continue long after they’ve left the group.

Writing is a pretty solitary business but Sam Blake and I always say that having your own cheerleading crew, people who understand the ups and downs, celebrate your successes, encourage you when you’re struggling and introduce you to others in the industry, makes an enormous difference.

And FEAR itself is a perfect example of what happens when writers come together because the anthology wouldn’t have happened without the Irish crime writing community joining forces, pooling their talents and supporting a cause they believe in.

And there’s something particularly wonderful about one community of women using their talents to help another group of women who desperately need support.

The figures around domestic abuse in Ireland are stark.

* More than one in three women have experienced psychological, physical or sexual abuse from an intimate partner.
* Domestic abuse isn’t always physical - coercive control, financial abuse and intimidation are all forms of abuse.
* Leaving an abusive relationship doesn’t necessarily mean the abuse stops and almost a third of women contacting Women’s Aid in 2025 reported abuse by an ex-partner.

So please buy FEAR. It’s a brilliant collection of short stories to dip in and out of, written by some of Ireland’s leading women crime writers and your purchase supports Women’s Aid. 
Seven years into Writers Ink, I’m still convinced that finding your people is one of the best things you can ever do for your writing. And last night was a lovely reminder of what happens when those connections extend beyond ourselves.

Women’s Aid 24-hour National Freephone Helpline: 1800 341 900.

#womensaid #fearanthology #writersink #writersofig #irishwriter

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My gallivanting this weekend…. @rolling_sun_book_festival @murderonefest

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Some time ago, in a WhatsApp group of Irish female crime writers that I started but then fled because I am horrifically easy to distract, there was a discussion about greatest fears - and this gave @samblakebooks and @kitty_murphy_writes an idea to put together an anthology of short stories by Irish female crime writers where each one would focus on a different fear.

Tonight, many of those writers gathered in @eason_ireland Dun Laoghaire to officially launch it.

FEAR is out now! Royalties go to Women's Aid

@hachetteireland

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Ohhhhh, I WISH I could have bought more 😂📚 I absolutely LOVE the Irish trade copies they’re so big and floppy 😍 EKKKK!

I loved exploring the bookshops in Dublin! First up was The Winding Stair such a gorgeous bookshop 🥹📚 @thewindingstairdublin

I picked up:

📖 Strange Sally Diamond - Liz Nugent
Plus this STUNNING wooden page marker. How gorgeous is it?! 😍

Next up was Dubray, and honestly… I could have stayed in there for HOURS. Sooooo many books I wanted to get 😂

📖 If These Walls Could Talk - Michelle McDonough
An Irish trade copy AND it’s signed! ✍️ I love that it’s an Irish book by an Irish author 🇮🇪❤️

📖 The Truth About Ruby Cooper
This one sounds INSANE 👀 I cannot wait to get stuck into it! @dubraybooks

And lastly…

📖 Big Little Truths
My airport pick ✈️📚 because obviously I couldn’t leave Dublin without one last book 😂

Honestly, Dublin + bookshops + books = absolute heaven. I just wish my suitcase had room for about 20 more 😭📚#dublinbookhaul #bookhaul #tradeprint #floppybooksarelife

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Photos from our final event as two crime writers met. Michelle McDonagh expertly interviewed the author of over one million books, Andrea Mara. It was insightful and informative and really gave insight into what makes a psychological thriller writer tick. Photos by Dermot Lynch.

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Another feature published on a subject so close to my heart. Thank you @connaughttribune and @mcdonagh.michelle. A tragic tale brought us together. #stbrigidshospital is still telling us tales all these decades later.
#irishasylums
#ifthesewallscouldtalk
#asylumx

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Do you have a question for Andrea Mara? The brilliant Michelle McDonagh will be interviewing Andrea on Sunday. Is there anything in particular you would like her to explore? Our great friends in Newcastle West Library have a question box!

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Venue: Longcourt House Hotel. Sunday 4th October.

Admission: €10

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/andrea-mara-such-a-nice-girl-tickets-1999694309510

Join us to hear best-selling crime writer Andrea Mara discussing her latest book Such a Nice Girl in interview with fellow crime author Michelle McDonagh.

ANDREA MARA is a number one Sunday Times, Irish Times and Kindle bestselling author, whose books have sold more than one million copies across all formats.

The TV adaptation of her 2021 book, All Her Fault, aired in November 2025 to huge critical and audience acclaim, with Sarah Snook (Succession) playing the lead. It became the most-watched TV show in America during the first week of its release.

Her most recent novel, It Should Have Been You, won Irish Crime Novel of the Year at the 2025 An Post Book Awards. It was a No.1 bestseller in Ireland for six weeks, and a Top Ten Sunday Times bestseller in the UK.

Her book No One Saw a Thing was a Sunday Times number one bestseller and has sold over half a million copies.

Andrea lives in Dublin with her husband and three children.

Such a Nice Girl was published earlier this year.

You can find Andrea on Instagram @andreamaraauthor

Michelle McDonagh, bestselling author, is an Irish journalist with over twenty-five years’ experience, including twelve years as a staff reporter at the Connacht Tribune. She now works freelance, writing features and health pieces for numerous Irish papers, including The Irish Times. She is married with three children and lives in Cork. She is the author of three novels: There’s Something I Have to Tell You, Somebody Knows and Some of This is True. Michelle is also the co host of the @natterwithkateandmichelle podcast.

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Grab your ticket today and see Michelle McDonagh, Edel Coffey and Carmel Harrington chat 'Blood Ties: Keeping it in the Family' Saturday, October 17th at 2pm 🗣️📖💫

Book your seat now at: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/blood-ties-keeping-it-in-the-family-tickets-1998873686003

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You can choose your friends but you can't choose your family

What happens when those relationships get toxic? Or are your family the only people you can truly rely upon?

Edel Coffey (In Glass Houses), Carmel Harrington (The Nowhere Girls), and Michelle McDonagh (If These Walls Could Talk) discuss how relationships are at the core of every drama with Jen Bray whose The Lies Between Us features three sisters under pressure, and hit the bestseller list earlier this year.

This event features Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation.

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