
‘Their anti-Wild Women narrators yearn to return to society, to recover full citizenship there. They are aware that they had something once, and that they have lost it.’

‘They may not realise it, but the positive impact queer people in progressive countries have on queer people across the world cannot be overstated. For those of us who live in countries where it is dangerous to express our identities, this connection means everything.’

‘Words slip on each other, he had thought. We get out from under what we know, we fail to get out from what we think. We never discover what thinking is.’

Our annual lecture this year will be delivered by writer and activist, Evelyn Conlon, on Wednesday November 29th in the United Arts Club at 8pm. Tickets now available. Booking required.

‘When I say I am lonely, my friends tell me, “At least you have your book,” as if the publicity stands in for a partner.’

A story by Maeve Brennan to mark her 30th anniversary: ‘All that night, she lay awake in a panic, thinking of ways to break with him. It would be heartless to tell him straight out that she had no use for him.’


‘Words slip on each other, he had thought. We get out from under what we know, we fail to get out from what we think. We never discover what thinking is.’

‘They go around the block, dancing in their seats, screaming the lyrics at the bewildered Chris, and she finds herself wishing that they’ll never get there—that they could keep driving around and around like this forever.’

‘I watch myself and I know what I’m thinking. I watch myself and I also know what I’m not thinking. I watch myself and I know I’m thinking, a week ago we were together in that little cottage on the farm in Wales, and now she’s in A&E in the hospital down the road and I’m sitting here waiting for her laundry to finish.’

‘When I developed my illness and could no longer work, he took pity on me and gave me a room and an allowance.’

‘In the early days, people told me my disease disgusted them. They didn’t say it in those words—they used phrases like ‘I hope this email finds you well,’ but the implications were clear enough.’

A story from Mary O’Donoghue’s new collection, The Hour After Happy Hour.
7th November 2023

19th September 2023

15th September 2023


‘They may not realise it, but the positive impact queer people in progressive countries have on queer people across the world cannot be overstated. For those of us who live in countries where it is dangerous to express our identities, this connection means everything.’

‘Words slip on each other, he had thought. We get out from under what we know, we fail to get out from what we think. We never discover what thinking is.’

‘When I say I am lonely, my friends tell me, “At least you have your book,” as if the publicity stands in for a partner.’