“Diarmuid Maolalai was born in Dublin and began writing poetry when he was studying English Literature at Trinity College. He spent five years travelling, living in Toronto and London and working various dispatch jobs, before returning to Dublin in late 2017.

Diarmuid’s poetry has appeared in many publications all over the world, the likes of which include The Stinging Fly, Smithereens, Platos’ caves, The Passage Between, Nomad review, The Phoenix, The Shearsman (2X), Literary Shanghai, Sybil Journal, Two Thirds North, Cult magazine, Hong Kong’s Voice and Verse and The Poetry New Zealand Yearbook. He has performed at BlueFire Arts Festival in Dublin.

His first collection, Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden, was published in 2016 by Encircle Publications and described by Frank Montesonti as “done with such craft and immediacy that even the jaded are compelled to feel again the bewildering, blessed wind of youth’s finest mistakes”. 

Maolalai has been described by one editor as “a cosmopolitan poet”; and another as “prolific, bordering on incontinent.” His work has been nominated fourteen times for BOTN, ten for the Pushcart and once for the Forward Prize, and released in two more collections; Sad Havoc Among the Birds (Turas Press, 2019) and Noble Rot (Turas Press, 2022).

Madcap Review nominated his poem The Cat-Killed Pigeon for one of these Pushcart Prizes.

His poem Mana received a Best of the Net Nomination from La Revue/The Journal and People in Desperate Situations received another one of those from Synchronized Chaos.

Here is a thought-provoking interview with Diarmuid from Orson’s Publishing, where he discusses his journey to poetry, and his reflections on the literary community.”