Neil McCarthy is originally from West Cork, Ireland. He graduated from the National University of Ireland, Galway, and began writing poetry soon after. His poems have appeared in dozens of international journals, in print and online, and have also been translated and published in Romania, Serbia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. He has a passion for travel and has so far featured as a guest speaker in literary festivals, conferences, Fringe festivals etc. in Australia, the US, Ireland, Romania, Croatia, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Austria. Three chapbooks of poetry have since sold out, but an album 'Live in the Laden' recorded in Vienna is currently available from Label 08/Preiser Records.

In 2018 his full debut collection, Stopgap Grace, was published and is currently available from Salmon Poetry. He now lives in Vienna.