Marie Louise O'Donnell is an educator, broadcaster, actress, writer and a noted public speaker. Having first lectured in Drama at Carysfort College, she moved to DCU where she worked in the communications department for twenty-five years. While there, she initiated and developed arts policy on the campus, culminating in the launch of The Helix in 2002.
Following training in radio with the BBC she presented programmes for both BBC and RTE. She worked weekly as a colour radio writer and reporter on the national broadcaster's Today with Pat Kenny and Today with Sean O'Rourke shows. She regularly contributes articles to national newspapers and is a frequent reviewer and media contributor. She has lectured extensively in Ireland, Europe and the USA in education, Irish drama, Irish culture and language. In May 2011, she was appointed to the Senate by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and re-appointed in 2016. Irish Working Lives is her first book.
