She sometimes divided opinion, having been described by John Banville as "the finest fiction critic we have", while attracting the ire of Eugene McCabe after she gave Dermot Healy an unfavourable review in 2011.
Her reviews of books and sports writing led her into a career in journalism as a staff arts writer with The Irish Times, eventually becoming their chief literary correspondent.
Her unfavourable review prompted an angry letter of protest from Eugene McCabe who castigated her for disemboweling "one of the great masters of Irish writing.
[10][13] President Michael D. Higgins paid tribute to Battersby, writing that literary criticism had "suffered a great loss".
He continued, "All of us owe her a debt of gratitude for her unstinting efforts to bring the best writers from around the world to our attention, her unflinching standards, and for the enthusiasm with which she brought her celebration of all aspects of the arts to so many different audiences.