On March 19, 2014, the Irish Studies Centre of SEIS, BFSU invited Professor Deirdre Madden from Trinity College, Dublin to make an insightful speech entitled “A Writer’s Story and the Craft of Writing”.

Professor Madden gave a vivid introduction of her own writing story and lead the students to the appreciation of her works (including The Birds of the Innocent Wood), analyzing some pragmatic writing craft. She also presented the ecological environment and local customs.

Deirdre Madden (born 20 August 1960) is an Irish writer from County Antrim. She was educated at Trinity College, Dublin (BA) and at the University of East Anglia (MA). She teaches at Trinity College, Dublin and is a member of the Irish Arts Academy Aosdána. Deidre Madden has won various awards, such as the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Somerset Maugham Award and the Hennessy Award. She has been described as, “a pivotal voice in Northern Irish writing, her understated yet complex fictions often touching on the religious and political turmoil of the North”. Her Major Works include The Birds of the Innocent Wood (1988), One by One in the Darkness (1996), and Molly Fox’s Birthday (2008).