Helen is a writer, drama facilitator and drama therapist based in Mountshannon, Co. Clare. Her fiction to date explores displacement (both physical and psychological) and cross-cultural divides; how natural environments shape and influence character, community and nation. Helen’s debut novel, Swimming on Dry Land, was published by Seren in 2015. Her short fiction has been published in the Stinging Fly Literary Magazine and broadcast on RTE Radio 1. She is currently part of the EP (Evolution Programme) of writers selected by the Irish Writers Centre .
She facilitates creative writing workshops for adults. She is a member of Full Circle Playback Theatre Co. Her work with children employs all aspects of story to facilitate creative journeys using sound, movement, voice and visual framing as key elements.
She is a professional member of the Irish Writer’s Centre. Awards include Literature bursaries from the Arts Council (2001 & 2015); Artist Writer’s Bursary Meath Arts Office (2007& 2016); Artist in the community scheme, The Arts Council of Ireland ( 2005) and most recently The Agility Award for Literature (2021 Round 3)