RadioMoLI Logo RadioMoLI Logo
RadioMoLI Live
Polygon

Emma Donoghue

Past/Present/Pride

Interview LGBTI+ Parenting Health

In the first episode of Past/Present/Pride, Dr Paul D’Alton speaks with Emma Donoghue, author of over twelve novels, including Room, Akin, and Stir Fry. Across a rich hour of conversation, Donoghue, born in Dublin in 1969, touches on subjects as diverse as same-sex parenting, the tension between safety and freedom, coming out to her mother, and the power of fiction. Donoghue’s new novel, The Pull of the Stars(Pan Macmillan) is set in a Dublin hospital in 1918 during the height of the Spanish flu pandemic.

Also find it on

Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts

More in this series

Colm Toibín

Past/Present/Pride
Interview LGBTI+ Health Writing

Mary Dorcey

Past/Present/Pride
Interview LGBTI+ Families Reading

Adiba Jaigirdar

Past/Present/Pride
Interview LGBTI+ Migration Colonialism

Seán Hewitt

Past/Present/Pride
Interview LGBTI+ Love Mental Health

Sonya Kelly

Past/Present/Pride
Interview LGBTI+ Families Writing

More like this

The Holy Office
Video Religion Satire

What Is The Word Discussion
Interview Poetry Writing Biography

While Bleeding

Words Lightly Spoken
Poetry Women Poetry History

Lus An Chromchinn (Daffodil)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Gaeilge Language History

The Demon Lover

MoLI Christmas Ghost Story
Short Story Horror Gothic War

Shancoduff

Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin reads Patrick Kavanagh
Video Nature Farming Poverty

Cleas (Trick or Feat)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Language History Gaeilge

The Painter on His Bike

Words Lightly Spoken
Poetry Writing Families Poetry

Pollen
Video Love Nature Covid-19

Opening Ulysses

Bloomsday Films
Video International Playful Music

Blas ar an mBeagán: An Leabhar Nimhe

IMRAM
Short Story Gothic Storytelling Gaeilge

Catherine Prasifka

City of Books
Podcast Childhood Mental Health Social Justice

To the Management

Words Lightly Spoken
Poetry Poetry Playful History

Sonya Kelly

Past/Present/Pride
Interview LGBTI+ Families Writing

On Development, Waste and Ghosts

UCDScholarcast
Lecture History Social Justice Politics

Identity, Sustainability, and the Politics of Water

UCDScholarcast
Lecture History Politics Environment

A Sonnet for Michael Viney

Words Lightly Spoken
Poetry Nature Friendship Poetry

Our Lady of Cúm a' Chiste

Words Lightly Spoken
Poetry Religion Tradition Poetry

Mary Morrissy's Penelope Unbound

Every Life is Many Days
Interview Biography Writing History

Mary Dorcey

Past/Present/Pride
Interview LGBTI+ Families Reading

Sally Hayden

Writer Presents
Podcast Migration Politics Storytelling

The Lyric Flow of Street

UCDScholarcast
Lecture Dublin Poetry

The Hospital

Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin reads Patrick Kavanagh
Video Love Mystery Health

Blas ar an mBeagán: Heinrich

IMRAM
Short Story Gothic Storytelling Gaeilge

Blas ar an mBeagán: An Foirgneamh Nua

IMRAM
Short Story Gaeilge Storytelling Gothic

Paul Perry's Eden Gone Wrong

City of Books
Podcast Storytelling Writing Poverty

In Praise of Difficult Women

City of Books
Podcast War Women Mental Health

Blas ar an mBeagán: Cuitiliú

IMRAM
Short Story Gothic Gaeilge Storytelling

'Close to Magic'

NovelTeens
Podcast Writing Education Poetry

Lisa McInerney's Riotous Revelations

City of Books
Podcast Working Class Writing Women

Tarbh (Bull)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Crith Talún (Earthquake)

Spreading the Words
Podcast History Gaeilge Language

Emilie Pine Reads Julian Gough

The Stinging Fly Podcast
Podcast Writing Reading Non-Fiction

Nora Barnacle: Joyce's Muse

City of Books
Podcast Love Writing Women

Observance

Irish Poetry Reading Archive
Reading Mortality Love Families

Making Music with Birds and Bugs
Podcast Music Writing Nature

Gorm (Blue)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Nollaig (Christmas)

Spreading the Words
Reading Language History Gaeilge

More Than One String to His Mandolin

City of Books
Podcast Writing Families Fiction

The Fine Art of Reading

City of Books
Podcast Dublin Northern Ireland History

The Gravity Wave

Words Lightly Spoken
Podcast Non-Fiction Poetry Love

Anne Enright on an Altered Ireland

City of Books
Interview Politics Families Writing

Teaghlach (Household)

Spreading the Words
Reading History Language Gaeilge

Life Lessons with Marian Keyes

City of Books
Podcast Women Mental Health Writing

Duileasg (Dulse)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Gaeilge Language History

Damhán alla (Spider)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Language History Gaeilge

'What's Wrong with Dreaming?'

NovelTeens
Podcast Childhood Writing Education

Ulcha (Beard)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Big Top, Big Dreams: Sarah Webb

City of Books
Podcast Families Poverty Hope

The Truth About Secrets and Lies

City of Books
Podcast Fiction Non-Fiction Writing

Bog (Soft)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Instances of the Number 63

City of Books
Podcast Women Writing

Still

Words Lightly Spoken
Poetry Women Poetry Families

A Poetic Licence Earned

City of Books
Podcast Poetry Writing Families

Melatu Uche Okorie Reads Ian Shine And Jonathan Edwards

The Stinging Fly Podcast
Podcast Reading Writing Storytelling

Look! It's A Woman Writer!

City of Books
Podcast Writing Women Social Justice

Women Poets in the City
Lecture Women Poetry Dublin

Daughter

Irish Poetry Reading Archive
Reading Women Families Poetry

A Wet Summer's Evening

Irish Poetry Reading Archive
Reading Poetry Nature Reading

The Road Less Travelled

City of Books
Podcast Hope Writing Women

Andrew Meehan

City of Books
Podcast Writing Love Storytelling

‘Flared in the Mind's Eye’

NovelTeens
Podcast Women Childhood Writing

Jan Carson

City of Books
Podcast Writing Childhood Northern Ireland

Sarah Moss

The Dublin Gothic Podcast
Podcast Writing Women Covid-19

Sense of Beginning

City of Books
Podcast Writing Art Women

Learwife: Hatching and Hoping

City of Books
Podcast Writing Women Storytelling

On Pollution
Reading Biodiversity Environment Writing

Back Up Quick They're Hippies

Words Lightly Spoken
Poetry Poetry Playful Travel

Twine

Words Lightly Spoken
Podcast Childhood Families Playful

John Banville Fades to Black

City of Books
Podcast Mystery Writing Storytelling

Hold Open the Door: Bebe Ashley, Emma Must and Sinéad Morrissey

Hold Open the Door
Podcast Poetry Northern Ireland Writing

Hold Open the Door: Annemarie Ní Churreáin & Rory Duffy
Podcast Poetry Education Writing

Wendy Erskine Reads Adrian Duncan

The Stinging Fly Podcast
Short Story Storytelling Biography Sports

Pushing Ink onto a Page

A Mind at Work
Interview Writing Reading Families

Myth-Making Michael Collins

City of Books
Podcast History War Dublin

Maighdean Mhara (Mermaid)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Haunted by the Ghost

City of Books
Podcast Women History Poetry

How My Film Won An Oscar

City of Books
Podcast Writing Covid-19 Fiction

Charles Maturin in Marsh's Library

The Dublin Gothic Podcast
Podcast Gothic Supernatural Reading

Coll (Hazel tree)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Nature History Gaeilge

Gloss/Clós/Glas

Spreading the Words
Podcast Language Gaeilge History

Rónán Hession on Why Kindness is King

City of Books
Podcast Friendship Playful Writing

all these words
Interview Writing Theatre Storytelling

The Darwin Vampires

Irish Poetry Reading Archive
Reading Poetry Supernatural Playful

Love and Loss

City of Books
Podcast War Writing Women

Fás aon oíche (Mushroom)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Gaeilge Nature History

Now the Other: Dragana Jurišić

Now the Other Podcast
Podcast Storytelling Education Art

Cuing (Yoke)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Richard Robinson: "Proustian Memory"

The Irish Proust
Interview Writing International Europe

The Light Fantastic

Irish Poetry Reading Archive
Reading Poetry Nature Writing

‘Brain Fever’

The Dublin Review Podcast
Podcast Writing Mental Health Journalism

Blas ar an mBeagán: Duinnín agus an Cat

IMRAM
Short Story Gaeilge Storytelling Victorian

Dinnsheanchas (A Literature of Place)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Poetry Gaeilge History

Espero

Words Lightly Spoken
Poetry Poetry Migration Language

Breaking Point: Burned Out and Bottoming Out

City of Books
Podcast Grief Women Writing

Hidden Truths in Reissued Classics

City of Books
Podcast Childhood Mental Health Women

Now the Other: Laura Fitzgerald

Now the Other Podcast
Podcast Reading Art Writing

Hold Open the Door: Nithy Kasa & Jean O'Brien

Hold Open the Door
Interview Poetry International Writing

Na hAgallaimh Imram: Colin Ryan

IMRAM
Interview Gaeilge Colonialism Poetry

Daniel's Duck

Irish Poetry Reading Archive
Reading Childhood Mortality Nature

Lemn Sissay and the Story of Why

City of Books
Interview Social Justice Families Journalism

Commemorating Abuse: Gender Politics and Making Space
Lecture History Trauma Working Class

Exploring the Sea in the Work of Eavan Boland and W.B. Yeats
Lecture The Sea Poetry Writing

Luna

Irish Poetry Reading Archive
Reading Poetry Women Nature

A Royal Affair

City of Books
Podcast Writing Women Love

A Modern Dilemma
Podcast Women Working Class Families

The Inner Poet

Irish Poetry Reading Archive
Poetry Poetry Writing Mental Health

Gaoth (Wind)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Gaeilge Language History

Grá (Love)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Gaeilge History Language

'The Singer'

Irish Poetry Reading Archive
Reading Poetry Writing Storytelling

The Lost Boys

Irish Poetry Reading Archive
Reading Poetry Working Class Poverty

Carlo Gébler on the Power of Greek Myths

City of Books
Podcast Storytelling Writing Reading

Frank McGuinness' The Woodcutter and His Family

Every Life is Many Days
Interview Biography Families Theatre

Snámh (Swimming)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Language History Gaeilge

What's in a Writer's Archive?

Inside the UCD Special Collections
Video Archives History

An Introduction to the UCD Special Collections

Inside the UCD Special Collections
Video Archives History

Arrival of the Kavanagh Collection

Inside the UCD Special Collections
Video Archives History

Hertford O'Donnell's Warning

MoLI Christmas Ghost Story
Short Story Horror Health Gothic

How is the Material Stored?

Inside the UCD Special Collections
Video Archives History

i mbolc

Three Poems for Brigid
Video Poetry Music Renewal

Kavanagh's Magazines

Inside the UCD Special Collections
Video Archives History

Deirdre McMahon: "Proust Revisited"

The Irish Proust
Interview Writing International Europe

Smugairle Róin (Jellyfish)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Making a Museum for Everyone
Interview Inclusivity Education Health

Mary Costello's The River Capture

Every Life is Many Days
Interview Biography Nature Education

Sensory Places and Spaces
Interview Environment Nature Playful

The Diplomatic Arts

City of Books
Podcast Poetry Politics International

Old and Tough / As love
Poetry Poetry Nature Storytelling

Number Ninety

MoLI Christmas Ghost Story
Short Story Horror Gothic Victorian

Behind the Words

Spreading the Words
Interview Gaeilge Writing Language

Craobh (Branch)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Gaeilge Language History

At Bridget's Well

Three Poems for Brigid
Video Poetry Music Women

Dermot Bolger

Writer Presents
Podcast Poetry Architecture Working Class

Dúlra (The Elements, Nature)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Nature Poetry Gaeilge

Hold to the Now

Bloomsday Films
Video International Time History

Immram (Voyage)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Travel Gaeilge Poetry

Nuala O'Connor's Nora

Every Life is Many Days
Interview Families Biography Writing

Old Biddy Talk

Three Poems for Brigid
Video Poetry Music Love

Sarah Maria Griffin
Podcast Writing Zines Travel

Jan Carson: It's Not About You

Writer Presents
Podcast Health Mental Health Writing

Yes I Will Yes

Bloomsday Films
Video International Music Affirmation

Memory Studies and Famine Studies: Gender, Genealogy, History

UCDScholarcast
Lecture History Women Gender

Marching To Her Own Beat

City of Books
Podcast Writing Theatre Storytelling

Evelyn Conlon Reads ‘The Park’

The Stinging Fly Podcast
Short Story Writing Storytelling Reading

Filleadh ón Antartach

Words Lightly Spoken
Podcast Gaeilge Poetry Nature

Cró (Enclosure)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Lowering the Heart Rate

A Mind at Work
Podcast Writing Grief Authorship

James Joyce, Treeless Hills and the Night of the Big Wind

UCDScholarcast
Lecture Nature Writing History

Imaginary Bonnets with Real Bees in them
Lecture Poetry Memory Childhood

Claire-Louise Bennett

Writer Presents
Podcast Writing Europe Working Class

The Familiar

MoLI Christmas Ghost Story
Short Story Dublin Horror Gothic

Jan Carson: What Words Had Once Been

Writer Presents
Podcast Families Health Mental Health

Ireland's Dark Tourism

The Dublin Gothic Podcast
Podcast Gothic Storytelling Horror

Words! Mere Words!
Reading Gothic Storytelling Horror

A New Day Will Be

Bloomsday Films
Video International Hope

The Psychology of Horror

The Dublin Gothic Podcast
Podcast Horror Gothic Storytelling

Amadán (Fool)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Gaeilge History Language

Clábar (Mud)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Gaeilge Language History

Leabharlann (Library)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Gaeilge Language History

Barry McCrea, Keynote

The Irish Proust
Interview Writing International

'Women of the Atlantic Seaboard'

Irish Poetry Reading Archive
Reading Poetry Gaeilge Women

John Boyne

City of Books
Podcast Writing History Reading

Emma Donoghue

Past/Present/Pride
Interview LGBTI+ Parenting Health

Jan Carson: Writing Dementia

Writer Presents
Podcast Health Writing Mental Health

Dorothy's Country

Words Lightly Spoken
Poetry History Poetry Women

Dublin You Are

Irish Poetry Reading Archive
Reading Poetry Dublin Social Justice

Colm Toibín

Past/Present/Pride
Interview LGBTI+ Health Writing

Gé (Goose)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Animals Gaeilge Language

Now the Other: Fatti Burke

Now the Other Podcast
Podcast Biography Art Childhood

Now the Other: Alex Lawes

Now the Other Podcast
Podcast Storytelling Reading Art

Adiba Jaigirdar

Past/Present/Pride
Interview LGBTI+ Migration Colonialism

The Shambles of Maamtrasna

City of Books
Podcast History Language Politics

Eamon Maher: "Proustian Echoes"

The Irish Proust
Interview International Writing Europe

Seán Hewitt

Past/Present/Pride
Interview LGBTI+ Love Mental Health

The Night Gym

The Dublin Review Podcast
Podcast Non-Fiction Storytelling Renewal

Anna Vaught's Saving Lucia

Every Life is Many Days
Interview Families Biography Mental Health

Let No Love Poem Ever come to this Threshold
Poetry Poetry Famine Grief

Work and Idleness

UCD Centre for Ethics in Public Life
Lecture Philosophy Mental Health Mortality

Ethics in the Age of Climate Change

UCD Centre for Ethics in Public Life
Lecture Environment Ethics Nature

Dulra (Nature)

Spreading the Words
Podcast Gaeilge Language Nature

All Strangers Here
Event Civil Service Writing

Hold Open the Door: Paula Meehan

Hold Open the Door
Interview Poetry Dublin Social Justice

Louise O'Neill: After the Silence

City of Books
Podcast Mystery Writing Reflection

Become a MoLI Member

MoLI Members enjoy unlimited free museum entry, a private members’ library, discounts, and exclusive event invitations. Every membership supports the museum’s programming.

Buy Membership
Themes Explore New Visit MoLI
Media Privacy policy Contact
Themes
Education Families Gaeilge History Horror International Migration Love Nature Travel Writing All Themes
Explore
Exhibitions Categories Series New Popular Short Listens Podcast Poetry Interview Short Story Discussion
Reading
Visit MoLI
/