Ashley O’Neal is an award winning poet, artist, and philosopher who lives in the Gaeltacht area of Ballyvourney, Ireland. She was the winner of the 2014 Michael Hartnett Original Poem award and the winner of the 2018 Kanturk Poetry Slam Competition. She has read her poems for the 2018 Sliabh Luachra Scully’s Fest. She was officially selected for the 2018 Biennial Edition of Women Cinemakers for her work in film and writing. The book has been shortlisted for the 2020 Shine Strong Poetry Award for the Mountains to Sea Festival, Dún Laoghaire.
Her poetry focuses on the ancient language of the land and the mythology of Ireland. She is deeply interested in the revival of poetry in relation to its ancient purpose, which is to unite people in their traditions, while also reconnect them to their noble heritage.