Much traveled Irish writer now based in New Brunswick, Canada, appointed as Writer-in-Residence at UNB 2008/2009. He is a Director of the Writers' Federation of New Brunswick and is a Fiction Editor of The Fiddlehead literary magazine (Canada's oldest literary magazine).
He completed his BA and BAI at Trinity College Dublin in 1984 and his MFA (Creative Writing) at Eastern Washington University in 1992.
Winner of two Sunday Tribune/Hennessy Literary Awards- Best Emerging Fiction Writer and New Irish Writer of the Year 1996.
Author of cult short story Sightings of Bono (adapted into a short film in 2000 featuring Bono of U2) & released on DVD in 2004- published as a Paprika short (Avvi Stando Bono,) by Scritturapura Editore, Italy .
Fiction writer - His most recent novel Turtle was published by Oberon Press, Ottawa, November 2009.
The Eskimo in the Net (Marion Boyars Publishers, 2003) shortlisted for The Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award 2004.
“Daily Express Saturday, December 27 2003 - OUR PICK OF A BUMPER YEAR
By far the most memorable novel of the year for me was Gerard Beirne's wonderful The Eskimo in the Net (Marion Boyars ). Nothing else I read in 2003 began with a better opening sentence. "Everything started to go wrong the day we dragged the Eskimo up in the net off Malin Head." …Wonderful clear prose and sensitive observation in a tough environment make this an outstanding debut work, scandalously ignored by this year's Man Booker judges." - Graham Ball (Literary Editor of the Daily Express).
Poet - Digging My Own Grave (Dedalus Press) – earlier version won second place in the prestigious Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award. if it’s words you’re after… a CD of selected poems was released in 2005.
New collection of poems, Games of Chance, forthcoming from Oberon Press
