Dennis O'Driscoll (1954-2012) was a leading Irish poet, essayist, critic and editor, the author of nine books of poetry. Born in Thurles, Tipperary, he combined his extraordinary literary output with working for Ireland's Office of the Revenue Commissioners in Dublin for over 30 years, and was married to the poet Julie O'Callaghan. Stepping Stones, his acclaimed book of interviews with Seamus Heaney, was published by Faber in 2008. He also produced two collections of essays, Troubled Thoughts, Majestic Dreams (Gallery Press, 2001) and The Outnumbered Poet (forthcoming from Gallery), and edited The Bloodaxe Books of Poetry Quotations (2006). His honours included a Lannan Literary Award, the E.M. Forster Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the O'Shaughnessy Award for Poetry from the Center of Irish Studies in Minnesota, and Argosy Irish Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award.
