Ruth Gilligan
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Ruth Gilligan (born 12 March 1988) is an Irish writer, journalist and university lecturer, born in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
.


Early life

Gilligan's father was an accountant and her mother a speech therapist. Her brother David is ten years her senior, and the family hail from
Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...
, where she grew up.


Career and studies

Gilligan studied acting at the Betty Ann Norton Theatre School in Dublin from the age of six, and later secured theatre, TV commercial and short film roles. Her first professional role was at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, at the age of 11. At second level, Gilligan attended St. Andrew's College,
Booterstown Booterstown () is a coastal suburb of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is also a townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the modern county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is situated about south of Dublin ...
, and while there, from age 12 to age 16, she played Laura Halpin in the Irish soap opera Fair City, and wrote her first novel, ''Forget'', as a ''Transition Year'' secondary school project. After reading and editing by successful novelist Patricia Scanlan, and extensive rewriting, the novel was published in 2006 in the UK and Ireland, reaching number one on the Irish Bestsellers' List, making her the youngest person in Ireland ever to have done so. Achieving eight Higher-Level A1 grades in her Leaving Certificate examinations, Gilligan continued her studies at
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
achieving a double First Class Honours degree in English literature from Gonville and Caius College. While in second year there she published her second novel, ''Somewhere in Between'', which was also translated into German. In January 2009, Gilligan was announced as the youngest ever recipient of an
O'Reilly Foundation The O'Reilly Foundation is a personal charitable trust set up in 1998 by media magnate, and former CEO of Heinz, Sir Anthony "Tony" O'Reilly. Its stated function is the funding of educational projects; the two main work areas in its active peri ...
Scholarship to pursue advanced studies in English literature. Her third book was launched in Blackrock, County Dublin in August 2009, following which she discussed her work, scholarship and GB Olympic fencing boyfriend Alex O'Connell, to whom the book is dedicated, in a live TV interview. From 2009-2010 she attended
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, earning an MA in English literature. From 2010-2011 she was enrolled on the Creative Writing MA at the
University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...
. In 2014 she earned her PhD in English from the
University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...
. Having set aside a new novel, her fourth published book, ''Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan'', is based around the history of Irish Jews, and was published by Atlantic Books in July 2016 (UK / Ireland). It received very favourable reviews, including numerous comparisons to
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
and Colum McCann. In 2017, it was published in the US by Tin House, and in Israel by Penn Israel. ''The Butchers'' (also published under the title ''The Butchers' Blessing''), was published in 2020. Set in the 1990s, it tells of a group of men, known as The Butchers, who travel around Ireland to farmers who follow the "old ways", slaughtering cattle according to a traditional ritual which stems from an ancient curse; the BSE outbreak in Ireland forms a background. Gilligan has said that readers are often shocked or hurt to find out that both the ritual and the curse are made up. ''The Butchers'' won the 2021
Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...
Ondaatje Prize. Gilligan took up a post as a lecturer at the
University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
, and in 2021 was made their first ever Professor of Creative Writing. She reviews books for the '' Times Literary Supplement'', '' Guardian'', '' LA Review of Books'' and ''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...
'', where she was a columnist for a number of years. Gilligan also works with Colum McCann's storytelling charity Narrative 4 - an international organisation devoted to fostering radical empathy amongst diverse teens - for whom she has organised a number of projects.


Books

* ''Forget'' (Number 1 bestseller) (2006) * ''Somewhere in Between'' (2007) * ''Can You See Me?'' (2009) * ''Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan'' (2017) * ''The Butchers'' (also published as ''The Butchers' Blessing'') (winner of the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2021) (2020)


Personal life

Gilligan is married to lawyer and former Olympic fencer on the Great Britain team, Alex O'Connell. They met in 2008, became engaged in 2016, and married in
County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...
in 2017. They now live in Highbury, London.


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilligan, Ruth 1988 births People from Blackrock, Dublin People educated at St Andrew's College, Dublin Irish television actresses Irish women novelists Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge O'Reilly Foundation Yale University alumni Alumni of the University of East Anglia Living people Actresses from County Dublin Writers from County Dublin