Oisín McGann studied art at Ballyfermot Senior College and Dún Laoghaire School of Art and Design, and went on to work in illustration, design and film animation. He moved to London in 1998, where he eventually found work as an art director and copy writer for an advertising agency. He now lives in Meath and works as an author, freelance illustrator and artist. You can check out Oisín's own website at oisinmcgann.com.

Sean McGoldrick is a sports journalist for the Sunday World. He was shortlisted for Sports Journalist of the Year at the Bord Gáis Energy National Media Awards 2009.

Áine Mc Guinness is from a small village on the East coast of Ireland. An early love for art led her to study animation at the National Film School of Ireland where she graduated with a degree in 2007. She worked as an animator until 2010 before starting her career as an illustrator. Her work is often inspired by childhood memories and nature and mainly combines digital and watercolour painting. Áine is currently based in Dublin, Ireland.

Frank McGuinness is Professor of Creative Writing in University College Dublin. A world-renowned playwright, his first great stage hit was the highly acclaimed ‘Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme’. He is also a highly skilled adapter of plays by writers such as Ibsen, Sophocles, Brecht, and writer of several film scripts, including Dancing at Lughnasa, and he has published several anthologies of poetry. 

Described by the CIA as 'the chief technical officer' of the IRA, Eamon McGuire was involved in undercover activity for over twenty years. He is the only person ever extradited from the Republic to the USA for political activities.

Conor McHale was born in Dublin in 1969. Shortly before leaving school, he decided he would become an archaeologist. This decision caused his father to roar with laughter. It took him over ten years working in Irish archaeology to realise what the joke was. He lives in Dublin with his wife, Susannah, and their son, Oscar. He loves Rembrandt, hates celery and often loses his keys.

Ciara McLaughlin is an award-winning designer, cake artist and professional baker living at the foothills of the beautiful Antrim Glens with her parents, siblings and border collie. It was here she grew up surrounded by traditional Irish baking and fell in love with those special moments spent in the kitchen.

A baker by day and creative at heart, she is devoted to passing on an appreciation for homemade food and its place in Irish culture. From her countryside cottage she runs her successful bespoke bakery, Swallow Barn, uniting her passions for art and food through hand-painted treats.

Fiona McPhillips is an author, journalist and interiors fanatic. Having survived a complete home renovation and extension, she was inspired to write down all the tips, tricks and techniques she learned along the way, with a little help from the experts. Fiona lives in her never-quite-finished home in Dublin with her husband, three kids, a dog and two cats.

Anna McQuinn was born and grew up in County Kerry. She lived in the small town of Castleisland in the heart of Kerry Dairy country and is old enough to remember the old Fair days there - her maternal grandfather used to be a cattle drover and his small restaurant attracted many old friends from up and down the country. Her dad grew up on a small dairy farm and Anna spent many hours with him visiting the farm to help his brother with milking and making silage.

Anna attended a small two-teacher national school three miles outside of town where her dad was a teacher. All of her friends lived on farms and she loved staying over for weekends, helping with feeding calves, moving cows around and cutting turf.

Anna read English and History in UCC then studied for her H Dip (specialising in Children’s Literature), teaching English for a number of years in Cork while she did so. In the late 1980s, like so many of her friends, she headed to the UK in search of work and was delighted to get a job in Children’s Publishing.

Since then, Anna has worked for over 20 years as an editor and publisher, producing hundreds of children’s books. In 2003, she left her full time publishing job to concentrate more on writing and has since written over 20 books. She now divides her time between developing book ideas, writing stories and working directly with children which really feeds her writing.