Cáit O’Neill McCullagh

An archaeologist and ethnologist (deeply engaged with the live and concerns of people; their lives and deaths) who lives, works and researches throughout the Highlands and Islands, Cáit started writing poems at home in Easter Ross in December 2020. Since then, her poetry has been published widely in print and online, and in exhibitions, and films. Her poems have been translated into visual artworks, and new musical pieces. Cáit’s essays, literary criticism and reviews have appeared in anthologies and journals, including ‘Beyond the Swelkie’ and ‘Bella Caledonia: An Anthology of Writing from 2007 – 2021’. She has been invited to read at festivals and gatherings throughout Scotland and Ireland, and online at international gatherings. Recent commissions include for the UHI, UNESCO, and The Friends of Hugh Miller.

Her debut pamphlet ‘The songs I sing are sisters’ won Dreich’s ‘Classic Chapbook Competition’ in 2022, and a Saboteur Award in 2023. Also in 2023 she was longlisted for the Bridport Prize, designated a ‘Makar o the Muinth’ by the Scots Language Centre, and became Inverness Skatepark’s first ‘Poet in Motion’.

Her first full-length collection ‘The Bone Folder’ was published by Drunk Muse Press in 2024. Reflecting the linguistic traditions of her Irish and Highland upbringings, it is commended for announcing ‘a bold and visionary writer who crafts the heartwood of language into luminous work that sings with life’. Poems from this collection have featured in The Scotsman’s ‘Poem of the Week’ and the Open Book and Eat The Storm’s Podcasts.

In addition to being a trustee and Co-Director of The Wee Gaitherin, Cáit is a trustee of Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre, and founding steering group member of the Scottish Highlands and Islands Poetry Society (SHIPS). She is committed to supporting opportunities for fellow poets, including those who, like herself, come from backgrounds where becoming a poet seems an unimaginable possibility, and tutors and facilitates workshops and courses in creative writing throughout Scotland.

Currently nominated for a Pushcart International Poetry Prize, Cáit continues to work on her second collection. See https://linktr.ee/caitjomac