Finuala Dowling  Finuala Dowling (born June 1962) is a South African poet and writer. The seventh of eight children born to radio broadcasters Eve van der Byl and Paddy Dowling, Finuala Dowling obtained an MA in English from the University of Cape Town (UCT), and a D.Litt. from the University of South Africa (UNISA), where she lectured in English for eight years. Her first poetry anthology, "I Flying", was published in 2002 and won the Ingrid Jonker Prize. She has also won the Sanlam Award for Poetry and the Olive Schreiner Prize. She won the 2012 M-Net Literary Award (English category) for "Homemaking for the Down-at-Heart". With Tessa and Cara Dowling she has set up an entertainment company, Dowling Sisters Productions.