Beginner’s Pluck

Derry O’Dowd is the pen name of Michael and Katy O’Dowd. A retired obstetrician, Michael is a medical historian and the national chair of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Ireland. Daughter Katy is a journalist.

Katy is the eldest of four children. Born in Northern Ireland she lived in Zambia as a small child, before moving to Ballinasloe. After college she moved to London, and got a job with Time Out, Associated Newspapers, and then with Comic Relief. She moved back to Ireland four years ago.