Cathal Ó Searcaigh was born in Cloch Cheannfhaola in the Irish-speaking area of Donegal in 1956. He studied French, Irish and Russian at the University of Limerick before beginning a course in Celtic Studies at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. He is one of Ireland's most renowned living poets.

His first volume was Miontraigéide cathrach agus dánta eile (Cló Uí Chuirrín, 1975) and other early work was published in the anthology Túirlingt (Carbad, 1978), which he and Gabriel Rosenstock edited. The next solo volume was Súile Shuibhne (Coiscéim, 1983) followed four years later by Suibhne (Coiscéim, 1987). An bealach 'na bhaile was published first in Irish (Cló Iar-Chonnacht, 1991) as a book and cassette package and later with English translations as Homecoming / An bealach 'na bhaile (Cló Iar-Chonnacht, 1993) with an introductory essay by Lillis Ó Laoire.

Na buachaillí bána (Cló Iar-Chonnacht, 1996) is a collection that deals primarily with gay love and sexual awareness. A bilingual version of many of these and other poems was published as Out in the open (Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 1997) for which Frankie Sewell provided English translations. Ó Searcaigh's collected poems were published under the title Ag tnúth leis an tSolas: 1975-2000 (Cló Iar-Chonnacht, 2001) which won The Irish Times award for literature in Irish. Caiseal na gCorr appeared in 2002 (Donegal County Council).

Some of his collections, include a prizewinning bilingual edition: By the Hearth in Mín a Leá (Arc Publications, 2005); Na hAingle ó Xanadu (Arlen House 2005), and Gúrú i gClúidíní: dánta nua (Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 2007). He has also published drama: Oíche dhrochghealaí (Coiscéim, 2005) and Mairimid leis na Misteirí agus Dramaí eile (Arlon House, 2006)

Ó Searcaigh's first major prose work was the travel book Seal i Neipeal (Cló Iar-Chonnacht, 2003) and he has written a number of plays, among them Mairimid leis na Mistéirí and Tá an Tóin at Titim as an tSaol, but, of course, it is chiefly as a poet he is recognised.