Mary O'Donoghue teaches rhetoric, writing fiction and literature classes. She has published as a poet, fiction writer, and translator of Irish-language poetry. She is the author of Tulle (Salmon Poetry), and her second collection Among These Winters was published by Dedalus Press in 2007. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in many European and North American journals and anthologies. Her translations of the work of Irish-language poet Louis de Paor feature in the first major bilingual edition of his work, Ag Greadadh Bas sa Reilig/ Clapping in the Cemetery (Cló Iar-Chonnachta). Her writing awards include the Salmon Poetry Prize for a first collection, Hennessy/Sunday Tribune New Irish Writer, and a Tyrone Guthrie/Virginia Center for Creative Arts Fellowship. Most recently she was awarded an artist's grant (fiction) from Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Areas of expertise also include Translation and Translation Theory.