Michael Harding

Michael Harding (born 1953) is an Irish writer.
Biography
Harding was born and raised in Cavan, Ireland. He went to St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, initially graduating as a lay graduate. He then taught for two years in St. Patrick's College in Cavan Town, then worked as a social worker in a prison. He returned to Maynooth as a seminarian and was ordained in 1980, after which he went to work in a parish in Fermanagh. He left the priesthood in 1985, then spent seventeen years practising Buddhism.
He is married to the sculptor Cathy Carman (whom he first met in 1984) and they have a daughter Sophia and a son, Simon. He lives in Tarmon, County Leitrim.
Work
He is an active writer of novels and poetry. He is a regular columnist with The Irish Times. He was Writer in Association with The Abbey Theatre in 1993 and was Writer in Residence at Trinity College Dublin, in 1999.
Publications
Novels
Priest (1986)
The Trouble With Sarah Gullion (1988)
Bird in the Snow (2008)
Plays
Strawboys, Peacock Abbey Theatre, 1987
Una Pooka, Peacock Abbey Theatre, 1989
Misogynist, Abbey Theatre, 1990
Burying Brian Boru, Theatre Omnibus, 1990
Where the Heart is, Project Arts Centre, 1993
Hubert Murray's Widow, Peacock Abbey Theatre, 1993
The Kiss, Project Arts Centre, 1994
Ceacht Houdini, Amharclann de hIde, 1994
Backsides to the Wind, Red Kettle, 1995
Sour Grapes, Peacock Abbey Theatre, 1997
Amazing Grace, Peacock Abbey Theatre, 1998
Bog Dances, Steve Wickham and Shake the Spear Theatre @ Dunamaise Arts Centre, 2000
Sleeping a Lovesong, Project Arts Centre, 2002
Talking Through His Hat, Dublin Fringe Festival @ The Focus, 2002
Swallow, Gare St Lazare Players @ Dublin Fringe Festival, 2003
Birdie Birdie, for Blue Raincoat Theatre, 2004
Tearmann for Siamsa Tire, The National Folk Theatre of Ireland, 2006
The Tinker's Curse, Livin' Dred Theatre Company, 2007.
Is There Balm in Gilead? Pavilion Theatre Dublin, 2007
Other
Staring at Lakes (winner of the Bord Gais Energy Book of the Year Award
Hanging with the Elephant
Talking with Strangers
On Tuesdays I'm a Buddhist (2017)
Chest Pain, A man, a stent and camper van (2019)
Awards
1989 - short listed for the Irish Times Aer Lingus Literature Award
1990 - Stewart Parker Trust Award for Theatre
1990 - Bank of Ireland RTÉ award for excellence in the arts
1980 - Hennessy Literary Award for short stories
2004 - Best Actor, Dublin Fringe Festival for his performance in Gare St Lazare's production of Swallow.
2006 - Nominated Best Actor in a Supporting Role – British Theatre Management Awards
2007 - The Tinker's Curse, nominated for Best New Play at the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards
2013 - Staring at Lakes, Non-Fiction Book of the Year Irish Book Awards
2000 - Member, Aosdána, Irish National Academy for Creative Artists
References
1953 births
Aosdána members
Living people
20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights
Irish male dramatists and playwrights
Irish novelists
Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth
Place of birth missing (living people)
Laicized Roman Catholic priests
Irish male novelists
Writers from County Cavan
21st-century Irish dramatists and playwrights
20th-century Irish male writers
21st-century Irish male writers