Catherine Foley
Genres: Columnist, Short story writer, Journalist, Scriptwriter, Non-fiction prose writer, Novelist for adult language learners, Writer for radio
Is scríbhneoir cruthaitheach, craoltóir, scríbhneoir teilifíse agus iriseoir í Catherine. Chaith sí fiche bliain ag obair mar thuairisceoir le The Irish Times.
Bhuaigh sí an chéad duais sa chomórtas d’ábhar léitheoireachta don fhoghlaimeoir fásta ag Gradaim Liteartha an Oireachtais 2016 dá bailiúchán colún raidió agus nuachtán, Cuisle an Chósta. Tá trí nóibhille Gaeilge scríofa aici sa seánra seo cheana. Bhuaigh An Cailín Rua (2004) an chéad duais ag Gradaim Liteartha an Oireachtais 2003 agus bhuaigh Sorcha sa Ghailearaí an dara duais sa chomórtas sin i 2002. Tá an dá leabhar foilsithe ag COMHAR. D’fhoilsigh LeabhairCOMHAR an tríú nóibhille, Samhradh an Chéasta, i 2010.
Scríobh sí an script agus chuir sí an tsraith teilifíse, Pobal ag Guí, i láthair ar TG4 i 2013, inar dhein sí anailís ar thraidisiúin na paidreoireachta in Éirinn.
Is léachtóir páirtaimseartha san iriseoireacht le Roinn na Nua-Ghaeilge in Ollscoil Chorcaí í.
Tá scriptscríbhneoireacht agus láithreoireacht déanta aici, in éineacht len í a bheith páirteach mar chomhléiritheoir lena deirfiúr RoseAnn ar bhreis agus dosaen clár faisnéise do TG4 — ina measc siúd tá clár faoin scríbhneoir Molly Keane, faoin iriseoir Donal Foley, amhránaí Tom Clancy, an fuirseoir Val Doonican agus an teanór Frank Patterson.
Foilseoidh Coiscéim a céad bailiúchán filíochta i 2019, dár teideal Ag Marú Maicréal.
Bhuaigh a cuimhní cinn, a d’fhoilsigh Mercier Press Beyond the Breakwater: Memories of Home i 2018, an Waterford News & Star Green Room Award for Best Book of 2018
Catherine Foley is a full-time writer and a former staff journalist with The Irish Times.
Her short story ‘Secret Letter Writers’ was included in the short story collection, Irish Girls are Back in Town, which was published by TownHouse Press in 2004.
She is a regular contributor to the iconic Sunday Miscellany radio programme on RTÉ Radio 1, and subsequent selected anthologies published by New Island, which include September Sundays (2013); RTÉ Sunday Miscellany a selection from 2008-2011 (2011) and RTÉ Sunday Miscellany a selection from 2004-2006 (2006).
Her two Irish-language novellas, An Cailín Rua and Sorcha sa Ghailearaí, won first and second prizes at the Oireachtas Literary Awards in 2003 and 2002 respectively, and were subsequently published by COMHAR. Her novella, Samhradh an Chéasta, was published in 2011, again with LeabhairCOMHAR
She won an Oireachtas Literary First Prize Award 2016 for a collection of radio and newspaper columns entitled Cuisle an Chósta.
She has scripted, presented and co-produced documentaries with her sister RoseAnn Foley, including programmes about the writer Molly Keane, the singer Tom Clancy and the journalist and satirist Donal Foley.
She conducted a televised public interview with poet Liam Ó Muirthile as part of the Irish-language arts festival, IMRAM, in Dublin in 2010.
In 2003, she was writer-in-residence in Scoil San Nioclás in Ring, Co Waterford.