Dervla McTiernan was born in County Cork, growing up initially in Carrigaline and Douglas before her father's work in the bank took her to Dublin, aged six, and then Limerick. She is one of a family of seven.[2][3]
McTiernan studied corporate law in University College Galway and went on to become a solicitor, training in Dublin. She returned to County Galway, to Oranmore, to build her own legal practice, working in it for about twelve years. By then she was married to her husband Kenny, an engineer and they had a daughter, with a son on the way. Ireland hit a recession and the couple decided to move to Australia.[3][2] She is now an Australian citizen.[1]
Australia and writing career
McTiernan and her husband settled in Perth, Western Australia, where McTiernan got a part-time job working with the Mental Health Commission.[2][3][4]
In 2014, McTiernan decided to give writing a serious try. Her first novel was published in 2018, and went on to win multiple awards. She continued with further works of crime fiction, for a total of three novels in a series, two standalone novels, and three novellas.[5][2][4][6]