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Page Turners: ‘Nesting’ author Roisín O’Donnell
Image / Living / Culture

Portrait by Ruth Medjber

Page Turners: ‘Nesting’ author Roisín O’Donnell


by Sarah Gill
17th Jan 2025

Here, we sit down with Roisín O’Donnell to discuss beloved literary titles, writing process, and how magical fiction can be crafted from the most ordinary of surroundings.

Roisín O’Donnell is an award-winning writer who has long been known for her short story prowess, winning the prestigious prize for Short Story of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards 2018 and being shortlisted for the same prize again in 2022. She is the author of the story collection Wild Quiet, which was longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and shortlisted for the Kate O’Brien Award.

Her debut novel, Nesting, has just been released, and it’s already garnering some buzz with Roddy Doyle describing it as “brand-new, urgent and hugely satisfying.” Introducing an unforgettable new voice in fiction, the story is one of unassailable love, hope and resilience, revolving around one woman and her bid to start over again.

On a bright spring afternoon in Dublin, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes from the washing line, Ciara straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe.

This was meant to be an escape. But with dwindling savings, no job, and her family across the sea, Ciara finds herself adrift, facing a broken housing system and the voice of her own demons. As summer passes and winter closes in, she must navigate raising her children in a hotel room, searching for a new home and dealing with her husband Ryan’s relentless campaign to get her to come back. Because leaving is one thing, but staying away is another.

What will it take for Ciara to rebuild her life? Can she ever truly break away from Ryan’s control – and what will be the cost?

Roisín O’Donnell Nesting
Portrait by Ruth Medjber

Did you always want to be a writer? Tell us about your journey to becoming a published author.

My mum is a voracious reader, and enrolled me in the local library when I was about three months old – so, an early starter! I grew up with this complete fascination with books and stories. I wrote short stories all through my teens and twenties. Then, aged thirty, I took an evening course at the Irish Writer’s Centre, where I was encouraged to take my writing seriously for the first time. Soon after, I published my first short stories.

What inspired you to start writing?

Like a lot of Irish people, I grew up in a family of storytellers, and I think that much of my inspiration came from listening to grown-ups telling stories around the kitchen table. At the age of seven, I was taught by Maggie Doherty, whose sister-in-law was the children’s author Berlie Doherty. Most of her books are set in the area where I grew up. It made me realise my world was worth writing about, and that magical fiction can be crafted from the most ordinary of surroundings. It was around then that I started dreaming of being a writer.

Tell us about your new book, Nesting. Where did the idea come from?

Nesting tells the story of a woman called Ciara Fay who has been living in an emotionally abusive relationship, but one day makes the split-second decision to leave with her small children and make a bid for freedom. The novel tells the story of Ciara’s attempt to find a home, break the chains of abuse and rebuild their lives. It was inspired in 2020 when I was commissioned by RTÉ Radio One to write a short story connected with the word ‘independence.’ This was during lockdown when we were all being told ‘stay safe, stay home.’ But what if home was the least safe space you could be? After I had finished the short story, I wanted to know what would happen next. So, I kept writing.

Roisín O’Donnell Nesting

What do you hope this book instils in the reader?

Early readers have said that Nesting is urgent, emotionally charged and life-affirming. Readers have talked about the contrast of light and shade and the warmth and humour which I hope is there too. As I was writing, Nesting became a type of quest narrative, about finding hope in the most difficult of circumstances. It became an adventure and a love story. I hope Nesting offers a different perspective on contemporary Ireland, and that it opens up questions about love, sacrifice, community and the meaning of home.

What did you learn when writing this book?

I learnt to trust my instincts, both on and off the page. Before this, I had been writing mainly short stories, and I used to have each story pretty much worked out in my head before writing it down. With Nesting, I had to embrace the vulnerability of not knowing what would happen next. I had to trust my intuition to guide me.

Tell us about your writing process.

While I was writing Nesting, I was working full time and raising two small children alone. So, I often used to write on my phone in the wee small hours, only able to see two or three sentences at a time, focusing on each moment of the story beat by beat, rather than worrying about the bigger picture. I had to place myself entirely in my protagonist’s shoes.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

I think I am always on the lookout for untold stories or voices which are underrepresented in literary fiction. When I was writing Nesting, I was aware that there weren’t really any other contemporary Irish novels set in emergency accommodation and refuges. Sometimes that filled me with doubt. But then, it also fired me up with determination to continue.

What are your top three favourite books of all time, and why?

Beloved by Toni Morrison, because it was one of the first novels I read as a teenager, and I still remember being blown away by the sheer beauty of it, and the scale of what she achieves. Evening in Paradise: More Stories by Lucia Berlin is a novel I return to regularly, for the warmth and honesty of her crystalline prose. A beautiful Derry novel, Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane. I love the lyrical, nostalgic depiction of childhood, and it brings me back to the place my family are from.

Who are some of your favourite authors, Irish or otherwise?

I could list pages of names. Claire Keegan is one of my favourite Irish authors. I was fortunate enough to take a series of workshops with Claire when I was just starting out as a writer, and I remember her talking about writing through the senses and how to engage the reader on a sensory level. Her economy of phrasing and the way she builds character and tension are mesmerising. Barbara Kingsolver is another author I greatly admire, and Demon Copperhead was among my favourite novels in recent years. There’s a raw energy to it. She is unafraid of tackling difficult subject matter, yet her prose is imbued with light and humour. I also love Elizabeth Strout and have read everything she has ever written.

What are some upcoming book releases we should have on our radar?

I’m looking forward to new novels from some of my favourite Irish writers including Elaine Feeney and Eimear McBride. I have also heard great things about The Original by Nell Stevens and The Language of Remembering by Patrick Holloway.

What book made you want to become a writer?

When I was about eight years old, my mum read me the novel Starchild and Witchfire by David Henshall, and I still remember the magic of it. I think that was my first experience of really being emotionally involved in a story, and not wanting a novel to end. I wanted to create a story as vivid as that, to give other people that same feeling.

What’s one book you would add to the school curriculum?

Youth by Kevin Curran deserves a place on the Leaving Certificate. It is a depiction of contemporary Dublin unlike anything I have read before. Set in the town of Balbriggan, it follows the story of four teenagers – Angel, Princess, Dean and Tanya- as their paths intertwine over the course of one summer. Their voices are urgent, evocative and unique. It is one of the best Irish novels of recent years.

What’s the best book you’ve read so far this year?

I adored The Stirrings by Catherine Taylor, her memoir of growing up in Sheffield, ‘a city comprised of challenging hill starts’. It is funny and wise and took me right back to the city of my childhood. I also loved Quickly, While They Still Have Horses by Jan Carson, whose playful magical-realist prose never fails to delight and move me in the most unexpected ways.

What’s some advice you’ve got for other aspiring writers?

Find the emotion of the story. This might take a while, so be prepared to wait. Beyond the facts of character and plot, what lies at the heart of your story? Once you have figured this out, your story will start to sing.

Lastly, what do the acts of reading and writing mean to you?

Reading and writing offer portals into other worlds.

Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell (Simon and Schuster, €14.99) is on sale now.

Photgraphy by Ruth Medjber.

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