RUTH FITZMAURICE

Agent: Sarah Williams

Ruth Fitzmaurice.jpg

Ruth Fitzmaurice was born in 1976 and grew up in Ardee Co. Louth, Ireland. As a student Ruth dabbled in modelling, film, TV and radio and got a BA in Communications from D.I.T. Aunger Street in 1999. A good ear and her skill at answering telephones, found her a job in Ireland’s National Radio Station Today fm in 1999, answering telephones with angry messages for Eamon Dunphy’s Last Word current affairs programme. She progressed to researching and producing the Afternoon Show with DJ Phil Cawley and developed great skill at writing fast paced disposable scripts and making tea for famous people.

In 2004 she married Simon Fitzmaurice from Greystones Co. Wicklow, a film director, writer and all round charmer and had three children. In 2008, Simon was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease and given three years to live. Simon went into respiratory failure in 2010 and was accidentally placed on a ventilator during an emergency procedure. He decided, against medical advice, to keep the ventilator thank you very much and Ruth and Simon stuck to what they were good at and made some more babies: twins Sadie and Hunter were born in 2012. Ruth was quite busy with family life at this point while her husband wrote his first book, It’s Not Yet Dark and made his first feature film, My Name Is Emily.

In January 2016, Ruth wrote her first piece for the Irish Times newspaper: I found my tribe at the Cove in Greystones.  It received an unprecedented amount of attention and her memoir I FOUND MY TRIBE was published by Chatto & Windus in the UK and by Bloomsbury US as well as translated into multiple languages. The book was published to universal critical acclaim and named to several ‘Best Books of the Year’ lists. Ruth won the prestigious ‘Newcomer of the Year’ award at the Irish Book Awards.

Film rights to the book have been optioned by Element Pictures and Ruth is currently writing the screenplay.

She currently lives in Greystones Co. Wicklow with her five children Jack, Raife, Arden, Sadie, Hunter.