About

David O’Neill

David O’Neill is a Fiction writer and Playwright from Dublin. He is a recipient of the Fingal Artist’s Support Scheme 2022 and 2023 and the Arts Council Agility Award 2021. His play Xs and Os played to sell out audiences as part of the Momentum 2021 Arts Festival. His fiction won First Runner-Up in the Sunday Business Post/Penguin Ireland Short Story competition 2017 and was shortlisted in 2018. He has been published widely in journals such as Seed Journal, The Incubator Journal, The Lonely Crowd, The Galway Review, Headstuff, The Bohemyth, Elbow Room and the National Flash Fiction Day Anthology. 

AWARDS

Fingal Artist’s Support Scheme
2023
Fingal Arts Office

Fingal Artist’s Support Scheme
2022
Fingal Arts Office

Agility Award
2021
Arts Council Ireland

Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition, Shortlisted
2018

Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition, First Runner Up
2017

EDUCATION

Playwriting      
2020
Millbank Theatre, Facilitated by Ciara Elizabeth Smyth      

BA (Hons) Journalism and Media Communication       
2000 – 2003
Griffith College Dublin        

THEATRE

Playwright
2021
Xs and Os, Momentum Arts Festival

Playwright
In Production
Rounds, Millbank Theatre

FICTION

The Things In-Between, Headstuff
February 2021

The Sound of a Beehive, In Parentheses Magazine
August 2020

Mirror, signal, manoeuvre, The Galway Review
March 2019

A Shed is No Place for Boys, The Bohemyth
September 2018

The Toolboxes of Child Soldiers, The Lonely Crowd
Winter 2017  

A Map Under the House, Headstuff
November 2017

She Talks to Me About Many Things, The Fiction Pool
January 2017

ESSAY

TESTIMONIALS

“I was first introduced to David O’Neill’s writing when he joined ‘The Green Belt’, a public art project which I managed in 2020 with support from Fingal County Council.  At one of our early Zoom sessions, I invited David to read from his fiction. I was struck by the lyrical, almost hypnotic quality of his writing and his rare ability to tell the mundane in beautiful but accessible prose.  He is also an observant photographer and when he brought along images of the Kenure Demesne ruins, I invited him to write a drama for possible performance at that location.  When actors in our group read the work (again on Zoom) l was struck by the intensity of the listening by all present. The script made the difficult transition from in-house reading through external casting to a successful outdoor performance this August. I found out only subsequently that David is, and identifies as, autistic. Reflecting now on his writing, it seems to me that it is both the lens of the autistic artist onto the external world AND the rare insight his writing can give into that inner space which marks his vision as unique. Foremost, he is a writer of fabulous language who can bring a new and important perspective through his ever-developing playwriting.”

Declan Gorman – Theatre Artist

“David’s play, X’s and O’s, was a spectacular piece of work which resonated hugely with audiences. I believe David possesses real talent as a writer, and will go from strength to strength if he is afforded the time and resources to delve deeper into his practice and continue to develop as an artist.

I look forward to seeing what he does next!”

Christina Matthews – Freelance Theatremaker and Artistic Director, Droichead Youth Theatre