Gabrielle O?Flaherty

Gabrielle O’Flaherty (née Tobin), author of The Night of the Red Tide, was born and raised in Ireland. Living in the seaside town of Tramore, she attended the Ursuline high school in Waterford. At age sixteen, she moved with her family to Cambridge, England, where she pursued a career in fashion while studying at the College of Arts and Technology, and met her future husband, Ken. Together they moved first to Paris, where she studied French while selling duty-free luxury goods to tourists, and then to London, where she worked again in fashion and had her first child, before emigrating to California.

While raising three daughters in San Diego, together with their dogs, cats, parakeets, and a horse, Gabrielle wrote poems and stories, took dance classes, and became an accomplished artist and sculptor. She now lives in the small surfing town of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, near her daughters’ families and their numerous pets (including Lily, a miniature Australian shepherd). She inherited her passion for the sea from her mother, and her great love for Ireland from her father. She enjoys international travel, frequently revisiting her home country.

The genesis of her new story was the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which inspired a burst of creativity. Being housebound and unable to travel, she channeled her intense emotions into writing a series of poems, making a highly acclaimed digitized photographic collage honoring essential workers, and conceiving this story. While witnessing an astonishing red tide one night, she fantasized that a giant albatross might land on the shore and take her daughter’s restless dog Lily to Ireland. By writing this story, she was able to travel across the world with them in her imagination. She invites readers of all ages to join her on this adventure.

Gabrielle’s husband, Ken O’Flaherty, acted as the primary editor of the book. He also researched and organized the photographs to illustrate her story, some of which are montages designed by her.

In spite of his surname, Ken was born in England, and educated in Bristol, London, and at Cambridge University, where he studied Modern Languages. After spending time in Paris working for the American Express, he pursued a career in the computer industry, which soon took him to the US.

Like Gabrielle, he enjoys travel and has a passion for Ireland, especially Connemara.