Diarmuid Maolalai was born in Dublin and began writing poetry when he was studying English Literature at Trinity College. He spent five years travelling, living in Toronto and London and working various dispatch jobs, before returning to Dublin in late 2017.
Diarmuid’s poetry has appeared in many publications all over the world, most notably The Stinging Fly, Smithereens, The Passage Between, The Phoenix, The Shearsman, Two Thirds North, Hong Kong’s Voice and Verse and The Poetry New Zealand Yearbook. He has performed at BlueFire Arts Festival in Dublin.
Publications and Achievements
Turas Press has published two of his collections:
- Sad Havoc Among the Birds (2019)
- Noble Rot (2022)
His first collection, Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden, was published in 2016 by Encircle Publications and described by Frank Montesonti as “done with such craft and immediacy that even the jaded are compelled to feel again the bewildering, blessed wind of youth’s finest mistakes”.
- Diarmuid’s work has been nominated for Best of the Net and twice nominated for The Pushcart Prize.
- Madcap Review nominated his poem The Cat-Killed Pigeon for a Pushcart Prize.
- His poem Mana received a Best of the Net Nomination from La Revue/The Journal.
- People in Desperate Situations received a Best of the Net Nomination from Synchronized Chaos: https://synchchaos.com/poetry-from-ds-maolalai/
Reviews and Responses
Sad Havoc Among the Birds
“Sad Havoc contains wry, sometimes beautiful, sometimes sad observations on people, things, nature and art itself. These poems seem to have arrived fully formed in the poet’s mind though obviously carved, planned and shaped to fit the page and get right down into the guts of the moment. Here’s a poet with some moxy, some style and some grace who sings like a wounded bird and is worth listening to.”
Karl Parkinson
Noble Rot
“There’s a gorgeous vulnerability to D.S. Maolalai’s Noble Rot. These poems, rich in variety and location capture an accumulation of small moments and gestures that reflect back to us the inevitable progression of time…The down-to-earth tone and language used throughout gift the reader an intimacy. A full-bodied read, Noble Rot will have you calling for another, and another round.”
Anne Tannam
Here is a thought-provoking interview with Diarmuid from Orson’s Publishing, where he discusses his journey to poetry, and his reflections on the literary community.
To read more reviews of Diarmuid’s work, head over to our Reviews page.