Miriam Murphy
From Tralee Co. Kerry Miriam studied at the DIT College of Music in Dublin under Dr. Veronica Dunne. Her awards include The Joan Sutherland Prize, The Gervase Elwes Cup, The Yamaha European Foundation Bursary and silver medal at the International Competition for Young Musicians in Antwerp representing Ireland. She performed with Opera Ireland, Opera Theatre Company and toured with The Leinster Opera Studio. At The Royal Academy of Music in London she won the Opera Gold Medal. During her three years postgraduate study she sang in six major opera productions. Awards included The Leverhulme Trust Awards, The Dame Eve Turner Prize, The Principal's Discretionary Award for outstanding musical contribution and the Principal's Prize for Opera Performance.

Ciaran O'Driscoll
was born in Catlan, Co. Kilkenny, and lives in Limerick with his wife and son. He has published five collections of poetry, the latest of which is The Old Women of Magione, based on a year spent in Italy, and Moving On, Stilt There: New and Selected Poems. He has also recently published a childhood memoir, A Runner Among Falling Leaves. In January 2000, he was awarded the Patrick and Katherine Kavanagh Fellowship in Poetry.

Ger Philpott
Writer and filmmaker, lives in Dublin. Among his films are the award winning Change and An Turas. Deep End his best-selling book on aids was published in 1995. He currently works on a novel, No More Dreaming and has two screenplays in development with Dublin based Caspar Films. He holds national records in masters swimming and breeds prize-winning Weimaraners.

Mae Leonard
Originally from Limerick now living in Co. Kildare: Writer, Writer in Schools/Libraries, Poet and Broadcaster. Winner of several short story and poetry literary awards including Scottish International, Francis MacManus, Belmont Prize etc. Publication: My Home is There, Tarzan Clancy, Six for Gold. Poetry collection pending. Working on a text book of children's poetry.

Carol Coulter
From County Sligo, studied English at under- and post-graduate level in Trinity College, Dublin, by which she was awarded a PhD. Since then she has worked as a journalist. She is the author of a number of books and essays on feminism and social affairs, and works as Legal Affairs Correspondent with The Irish Times.

Giulia Lorenzoni
is a graduate of the University of Bologna, Italy, and has been PhD student at University College Dublin for the past 4 years. Her academic background is in English and French Literature and her current interest is on the representation of the family in contemporary Irish writing. She has just moved back to Italy where she teaches English in Modena, Italy.

Ms Justice Mary Laffoy
Appointed a judge of the High Court in 1995, having practised at the Bar, specialising in property law, for twenty four years. Currently Chairperson of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, which is conducting a statutory inquiry into child abuse in institutions.

Ferdinand Mount
Ferdinand Mount is the author of The Subversive Family [Cape 1982]. The book was also published in the United States and in French, Swedish and German. He was editor of the Times Literary Supplement from 1991 to 2002, and was formerly head of the Prime Minister's Policy Unit from 1982 to 1984 and a director of the Centre for Policy Studies. He is also the author of nine novels, including The Man Who Rode Ampersand (1975), Of Love and Asthma (1991), which won the Hawthornden Prize, and most recently Fairness (2001). These books all form part of a loose sequence entitled A Chronicle of Modern Twilight. He is currently a columnist for the Sunday Times and has written for most newspapers in Britain and the USA. He is married with three grown-up children and has lived in Islington for more than thirty years.