As a writer, psychologist and shamanic practitioner I have always been fascinated by the human potential for cooperation, creativity, love and solidarity. My qualifications include a PhD in psychology, an MFA in creative writing and a Certificate in shamanic practice.
I grew up in Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s, when the catholic church dominated public and private life. Both of my parents followed church teaching but were also questioning, and had a strong interest in fairness and social justice. Teaching ran in the family, and I found out later in life that there were also healers and storytellers.
I was always fascinated by prehistory – how did people live, what did they believe in, were they different from us – and this led to an interest in psychology and human development. I studied at UCD and did a PhD in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Like so many Irish people at the time, getting away from the restrictions of Ireland opened up all kinds of possibilities. When I returned to Ireland I took a job in University College Dublin where I taught psychology and women’s studies. I wrote a lot about feminism, gender and sexuality, colonization and the Irish psyche and also developed my practice as a psychologist.
The women’s movement and my experience coming out as LGBTQ+ set me on a path as an activist. That combination of activism and psychology led to the development of liberation psychology, which looks at how we can heal the wounds of social injustice and oppression.
While in college I gave up religion completely and ignored the whole area of spirituality until my younger brother died tragically at a young age in a drowning accident. My questions brought me to the emerging goddess and women’s spirituality movement. There I found amazing art, poetry and stories of ancient times when women and the earth were the centre of artistic and spiritual practice. I developed my practice through Celtic spirituality and shamanism and have done training and workshops mainly with Mary Edwards, Martin Duffy, Annette Peard, Cait Brannigan and Caitlin Matthews.
Inspiration to write a novel came from feminist visions of a pre-patriarchal society, celtic and goddess mythology, trips to ancient sites, dreams and shamanic journeys, watching the stars at night, experiencing lesbian culture and honouring the land. I developed my craft through reading, workshops, writing groups and an MFA in creative writing and now look forward to writing the sequel to Winter Sun.