Éilís Ní Dhuibhne was born in Dublin in 1954. She was educated at University College Dublin (UCD) studied Pure English for her BA and Irish Folklore for her PhD. Her first short story was published in 1974 and since then she has written several novels in both English and Irish. She is also the author of five short story collections and four children’s books as well as three plays.

Éilís has won recognition and awards for her prose, drama and children’s literature, and her novel The Dancers Dancing was short-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2000. The Shelter of Neighbours, a collection of short stories, was published by Blackstaff Press in 2012. For many years, she worked as a librarian in the National Library of Ireland and she has also worked in the Department of Irish Folklore in UCD as well as taught Creative Writing at Trinity College, Dublin. Currently Éilís is Writer Fellow in UCD, where she teaches MA-level Creative Writing. She is a member of Aosdána.