Lorraine O'Byrne

Lorraine O’Byrne (née Barry) was an Irish author of children’s
stories and adult fiction. Inspired by her childhood in rural
Ireland, Lorraine distilled her interest in fairies, pixies and other
supernatural creatures into her children’s stories such as The
Hippity, Dippity Witch and Lucy Pebble’s Miracle. Lorraine’s first
adult fiction was The Wrath of Voodoo in 2004, about a young
Irish teacher who went on an adventure to Kenya. Despite
an interest in the supernatural, Lorraine always brought
her trademark humour to her writing, as 2015’s Escaping the
Prince testifies.
Lorraine graduated from the University of Limerick with
a BA in Languages, History and Sociology, before obtaining
a diploma in freelance journalism and an MA in Creative
Writing, also from UL, where her tutor was bestselling Irish
author Donal Ryan.
Like so many Irish writers before her, from WB Yeats
to Edna O’Brien, Lorraine was inspired by Ireland’s natural landscapes and succeeded in seeing the ordinary in the
extraordinary. Her book Poppy the Cygnet was inspired by the
numerous swans that visit the beautiful lake of Lough Gur
each year, where Lorraine worked as a tour guide.
Lorraine spent her final years working as a carer for the
elderly in her community while she lived on a farm in Co
Limerick, with her beloved husband Donal, and their cherished
family pets. Lorraine enjoyed many outdoor pursuits such as hill
walking and horse riding. The rural chimes of farm life proved
stimulating for her imagination, as it was here, she completed
her final novel, I Will Find You, a story of a long-buried secret
seen through a supernatural prism.