Colleen grew up in a working-class family with an Irish
background in Bondi, Sydney, and now lives in the inner city. She has been a
shorthand typist, research assistant, community worker and
Writer-in-the-Community and Workplace. Leaving school at 15, she later
matriculated, completing a BA. For many years she facilitated poetry and creative writing
workshops in adult and community education.
Her poetry collection the edge of it was shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Poetry Prize, part of the NSW Literary Awards. Colleen was awarded the NSW Writers’ Fellowship in 2000 to work on her memoirs and poetry.