My family is visiting Ireland in 2026 from the US and I’d like to read some Irish works. I’ve read some Seamus Heaney, Maeve Binchy, and Claire Keegan, but that’s about it.
What should we read to get excited and prepped for our visit to Ireland? We’ll be in Dublin and Galway for sure, but also smaller towns in between to visit “cousins” – we are of Irish decent.
I read a lot and I’m interested in reading classic and contemporary books. Bonus points for books that my 6 year old might also like. Thank you!!
by quirky-lurky
12 Comments
Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks. It’s a road trip book and really funny. Highly recommend!
If you like crime novels, read some Tana French, or Kala by Colin Walsh.
Read anything by Tana French. She writes mysteries set in Dublin. ‘Faithful Place’ is amazing!
Might be a bit too scary for a 6 year old but The Hounds of the Morrigan is a good children’s book for when they’re a bit older.
For the adults, Paul Lynch if they like literary fiction. Graham Norton’s first couple of novels were decent mystery books.
Any of the short stories by Frank O’Connor.
For nonfiction, try McCarthy’s Bar by Peter McCarthy. He’s a Brit whose family came from Ireland, and he decides to spend a summer traveling around Ireland, with a rule that whenever he sees a bar with “McCarthy” in the name, he has to stop for a drink. It is hilarious but he also shares a lot about history, connection and modern-day Ireland.
Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe (about the troubles in Northern Ireland)
Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt (Pulitzer-winning memoir about a poverty-stricken family, but still full of humour and wit)
https://www.stopyourekillingme.com/LocationCats/Europe/Ireland.html
This is Happiness – Niall Williams
The Story of Lucy Gault – William Trevor
I would suggest “Brooklyn” and “Long Island” by Colm Tobin (for adults). They are each set partly in Ireland and partly in, well, Brooklyn and Long Island, respectively. But they really get at the emigration experience that is such a HUGE part of Irish history and society. Long Island is the sequel to Brooklyn, and is set about 20 years later.
Ireland is so jam packed with quality authors, it always blows me away!!
For a distinctly Irish story, I recommend This is Happiness by Niall Williams. It’s about a small village in 1958 and what happens when the electricity finally arrives. You get to know a lot of the townsfolk, but focuses on a few story threads. Beautiful, bittersweet book! Meanders a lot in a good way.
Vulgar Errors/Feral Subjects by Fran Lock is a series of essays about Ireland, English colonialism, queerness, and writing and how they all intertwine.
Trinity by Leon Uris is the perfect book for those wanting to understand the tumultuous history of Ireland.