| review quotes |
| ‘… one of Ireland's most unusual and creative minds; [her fiction is] dressed in modernity, a ritual playing of the bones of Irish storytelling.' |
| Andrew Lovatt, deaddrunkdublin, January 2007 |
| YOU (A NOVEL) |
| '...'A wonderful piece of work. Economic, evocative, sharp and nail-bitingly tense. The little girl’s voice is pitch-perfect.' |
| Rachel Trezise |
| '...The novel flows beautifully and is understated in tone...This gem is sure to win her further acclaim. Nuala Ní Chonchúir is a writer to watch.' |
| Sue Leonard The Irish Examiner |
| NUDE (SHORT STORIES) |
| '...Nude, with its thematic discipline, is a memorable achievement. As with Brendan Kennelly’s ground-breaking collection of poetry, Cromwell, it is satisfying to sit down with a book that sets itself an explorative, self-questioning agenda, full of witty voices rendering adventures both savage and absurd.' |
| Katie Donovan, The Irish Times, 10 October 2009. |
| '...Nude is a wonderful collection from a wonderful writer.' |
| Small Press Reviews, 21 November 2009. |
| 'The triumph of the author is that unhappy or distracted as her characters are their stories are told with an odd dignity and absolute conviction.' |
| Sean McMahon, Verbal. |
| '...tales of everyday lives in which Ni Chonhuir peels back the epidermis to reveal the mess that lies beneath...' |
| Lane Ashfeldt, Lane 7 - Books worth reading: ‘Nude’ and ‘The Final Solution’
, 13 February, 2010 . |
| '...Nude is a gorgeous collection. It’s sexy, intelligent, sensual, challenging and, even better, an addictive read. Highly recommended.' |
| Jennifer Matthews, Southword 17 , Dec 2009 / Jan 2010 . |
| TATTOO : TATÚ (POETRY) |
| 'Ní Chonchúir is an Irish poet whose work is both sensual and provocative…she bares her soul and examines the world around her in visceral and challenging ways.' |
| Marc Schuster, Small Press Reviews |
| 'Ní Chonchúir's poems possess a quiet self-assurance and the poise of style. She has the Chekhovian eye for detail and a gift for brevity and relevance.' |
| Cathal Ó Searcaigh, poet |
| 'Ní Chonchúir writes in both Irish and English. Not since Michael Hartnett has there been an Irish poet who works with such facility in both languages.' |
| POETRY INTERNATIONAL |
| 'Ní Chonchúir has a deft word-touch and is imaginative and resourceful with poetic ideas. [Her] work is vital and often funny and quirky, with a punchy diligence.' |
| KIOSQUE |
| TO THE WORLD OF MEN, WELCOME (SHORT FICTION) |
| ‘To The World of Men, Welcome, her second collection, has an air of professionalism and competence, which is the least she deserves: she is a real writer. Prevailing theme of these sixteen pieces is how relationships break up, and they are “brimming with sensuality, art, secrets and loss”. A Pauline Bewick painting is used on the jacket and depicts what not many publishers would allow on their jackets – but like Ní Chonchúir’s work, it is done so beautifully that nobody could take offence.’ |
| BOOKS IRELAND |
| ‘A bright and fresh collection of short stories exploring the promises and disappointments of love and relationships, this is a slightly and delightfully irreverent book full of female sensitivity and humour. The stories are bright and yet carry a deep sense of reality that brings the reader down to earth now and then. The economic use of language leaves as much unsaid as said and adds another level to the quality of the book.’ |
| DESI KENNY, KENNY’S BOOK SHOP |
| Ní Chonchúir’s gift with story-telling goes beyond the flat visuals of words on paper and describes an individual world in each story. In her second collection of short stories, she establishes herself as a writer who is committed to peeling back the veneer of ordinary lives to display the sometimes unfathomable choices people make and the collaborative cruelty in love relationships. |
| AMAZON.COM |
| ‘beautifully crafted’. ‘the language is often a joy to absorb’ ‘the descriptions of landscapes…were superb.’ |
| IRISH BOOK REVIEW |
| ‘To The World of Men, Welcome is so packed with life that when it came to its end it felt like being thrown out of a good party. These are strong stories and Ní Chonchúir has definitely found her feet.’ |
| PAT JOURDAN, AUTHOR |
| THE WIND ACROSS THE GRASS (SHORT FICTION) |
| 'I have always felt that poets are more alive than other people, that they see exquisite and painful detail in even the most mundane and neglected parts of life. Nuala Ní Chonchúir epitomises the poet/writer who uses the intensity of her poetry skills in prose to produce, in The Wind Across the Grass, sensualist microcosms of love, life and love gone astray. Here is a sharp but compassionate eye that can make us believe that these strange and wonderful characters breathe, hope and suffer....A good writer, like any good artist, should perturb and make us think. So with this criteria, she fully deserves all accolades accorded to her.' |
| Julia Bohanna in The Short Review |
| 'Look for some big things to come from Galway's Ní Chonchúir. She has such a diversity of work and can say so much in just a few words that it's obvious she's also an award-winning poet. Her stories are filled with very astute observations, some humorous, some sad.' |
| THE READERVILLE JOURNAL |
| ‘At long last there is a writer to rival [Mike] McCormack in the short story genre.’ |
| THE CITY TRIBUNE, GALWAY |
| ‘There is passion, mythology and raw human experience. Reading Nuala Ní Chonchúir, you learn that your life is reflected in what she sees. It is this quiet invading honesty of her words that makes her writing real.’ |
| THE GALWAY ADVERTISER |
| ‘There is bright assessment here as Nuala Ní Chonchúir deftly sketches in her surroundings. Then emotions sweep in, deeper, unsettling. But confidence and intelligence are central in all [of her] writing, creating a safety net. She searches like a lighthouse, picking out the unusual.’ |
| WOMEN’S STUDIES REVIEW |
| ‘[The Wind Across the Grass] is a rewarding collection.’ |
| BOOKS IRELAND |
| ‘Nuala Ní Chonchúir’s short story ‘The Queen of All Ireland’ beautifully captures the child’s voice and perspective. |
| NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL |
| ‘This is a memorable first collection from the award-winning writer, the short stories leave a lasting impression on the mind of the reader.’ |
| IRISH EMIGRANT |
| MOLLY'S DAUGHTER [POETRY] |
| ‘[There is a] refreshing novelty to some of Ní Chonchúir’s work, which shows every sign, already formidable and clear and strong, of developing into memorable poetry.’ |
| BOOKS IRELAND |
| ‘She writes with economy, lending strength and intensity to her poetry’s delicate observations. Ní Chonchúir’s poems are confident, grounded in place, full of familial personalities and relationships, always gleaning the full verve of their ambit.’ |
| THE BURNING BUSH |
| ‘Nuala Ní Chonchúir works on the economy of language, the sentiments in poems like ‘Mother’ enchanting in their simplicity.’ |
| WESTMEATH INDEPENDENT |
