Irish Fiction Books Irish Fiction in all it's diversity Irish Fiction Books by the following authorsClick on the images for more information on authors and books. Claire AllanIt's Got to be Perfect by Claire AllanAnnie's life is in turmoil.She has her dreams, but that is all they are… Dreams.What can she do about them? Claire Allan BooksTop Next Book & Author John BanvilleThe Book of Evidence by John BanvilleFreddie Montgomery was unphased by his murder of a chambermaid who got in his way.He was, however, moved deeply by a painting of a woman that he had to steal it. John Banville BooksTop Next Book & Author Sebastian BarryThe Secret Scripture by Sebastian BarryDr Greene and his patient are both looking back on the past.The mental hospital is about to be closed and Roseanne is looking through a journal she has surreptitiously kept.When they both discover the circumstances of her arrival they are shocked to find that all s not what it should be. Sebastian Barry BooksTop Next Book & Author Maeve BinchyScarlet Feather by Maeve BinchyCathy Scarlet and Tom Feather are setting up 'the best catering business in Ireland'.Or so they hoped.Their plight is not helped by an array of characters destined to become obstacles in the pair's fortunes. Maeve Binchy BooksTop Next Book & Author Dermot BolgerTemptation by Dermot BolgerAlison Gill is a woman who is torn between her longing for life and her fear of the unknown.She wants happiness but she is not sure she is willing to pay the price. Dermot Bolger BooksTop Next Book & Author Clare BoylanHoly Pictures by Clare BoylanTo fourteen year old Nan the cinema appears as a miraculous rescue from the confines of her Catholic upbringing.Neglected by her mother, bullied by her increasingly eccentric father, buffeted by aristocratic nuns, unwelcome house guests and an uneasy knowledge of the facts of life, the last year of Nam`s childhood moves from the burlesque to the tragic... Clare Boylan BooksTop Next Book & Author Pierce ButlerA Malady by Pierce ButlerMany readers will encounter the malady evoked in this novel with a shock of instant recognition.The central characters are preoccupied with their inability to penetrate the world around them, to make contact with each other, or even to gain a measure of control in their own lives. Pierce Butler BooksTop Next Book & Author Michael CollinsThe Life and Times of a Teaboy by Michael CollinsAmbrose Feeney has seen his hopes and ambitions dashed by others` influence and his own inertia.His Limerick is an old siege city of walls, both real and psychological.As Ambrose descends into lunacy he paints a starkly sane portrait of one family`s life in Ireland unsoftened by the mists of legend. Michael Collins BooksTop Next Book & Author Marita Conlon McKennaPromised Land by Marita Conlon McKennaElla has lost out in an inheritance and has to leave her beloved farm.She has to go to Dublin and muck out with the other country girls.But someday she hopes to return. Marita Conlon McKenna BooksTop Next Book & Author Shane ConnaughtonThe Run of the Country by Shane ConnaughtonElla has lost out in an inheritance and has to leave her beloved farm.She has to go to Dublin and muck out with the other country girls.But someday she hopes to return. Shane Connaughton BooksTop Next Book & Author Emma CookeA Single Sensation by Emma CookeThis novel is about a girl from a middle-class Midlands family in the seventies whose unwanted pregnancy brings her face to face with the awful dilemma which some 10,000 unmarried Irish girls every year solve by making a tragic journey to Britain. Emma Cooke BooksTop Next Book & Author Conor CreganPoison Stream by Conor CreganRalph Martin is probably the richest man in Ireland.Frank Costello is the Taoiseach of an uneasy coalition.THE POISON STREAM is the story of how the rich and powerful run Ireland for themselves Conor Cregan BooksTop Next Book & Author Anthony CroninIdentity Papers by Anthony CroninThe Box is the Baron`s refuge from life.It protects him from the villifications of others and it gives him comfort in times of distress.But it has come to pass that his `comfort zone`` is to be interrupted and to become the very thing that will accuse him. Anthony Cronin BooksTop Next Book & Author Frank DelaneySins of the Mothers by Frank DelaneyEllen arrives in the village in 1925.There, she meets two men who will have an unprecedented effect on her life. Frank Delaney BooksTop Next Book & Author Michael DickinsonLost Testament of Judas Iscariot by Michael DickinsonA fictional account of what Judas Iscariot might have done. Michael Dickinson BooksTop Next Book & Author J P DonleavyThe Ginger Man by J P DonleavyThis book was banned in the United States for its roguishness and its dislike of authority.It has since been recognised as a masterpiece of writing. J P Donleavy BooksTop Next Book & Author Emma DonoghueRoom by Emma DonoghueThis is the story of Ma and her five-year-old son, Jack, who are trapped in the room with no way out. Emma Donoghue BooksTop Next Book & Author Roddy DoyleThe Snapper by Roddy DoyleThe Barrytown Trilogy continues with his hilariously funny story of urban life. Roddy Doyle BooksTop Next Book & Author Anne-EnrightThe Gathering by Anne-EnrightThe nine surviving children of the Hegarty family gather in Dublin for the wake of their wayward brother, Liam.It wasn`t the drink that killed him, although it did help.It was what happened to him as a boy in his grandfather`s house in the winter of 1968. Anne-Enright BooksTop Next Book & Author Kitty-FitzgeraldSmall Acts of Treachery by Kitty-FitzgeraldMike Spencer is given the run around until he finally figures out who he is chasing.But in the end, he becomed the chased. Kitty-Fitzgerald BooksTop Next Book & Author Maggie GibsonAlice Little and the Big Girl's Blouse by Maggie GibsonHaving been sacked by her vindictive boss, Alice Little finds herself homeless and jobless.Her best friend, Conor - the eponymous Girl`s Blouse - suggeste she comes out and works in the Samovar, a cafe which he runs with his boyfriend, a hirsute Ukrainian called Hector.When Immigration start to pursue Hector.Alice finds herself sgreeing to marry him in exchange for a cut in the cafe. Maggie Gibson BooksTop Next Book & Author Christine Dwyer HickeyThe Gambler by Christine Dwyer HickeyThe Gambler is the second part of the trilogy, The Dublin Trilogy.Set between the two big wars, it chronicles the decline of a family.Drink and gambling wreck havoc on the family. Christine Dwyer Hickey BooksTop Next Book & Author Melissa HillThe Last to Know by Melissa HillEve and Liam are living in bliss, not married bliss.Eve wants to be married.Her sister wants her to be married, too.But Brooke in Australia knows nothing of this except she is going to find out. Melissa Hill BooksTop Next Book & Author James JoyceA Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James JoyceThis is another masterpiece, a precurser to Ulysses in style and temperment. James Joyce BooksTop Next Book & Author John B KeaneDurango by John B KeaneSet in the West of Ireland this novel deals with the concerns of the rural people.Heybegs Mullanney is concerned with the price of cattle, and who his daughter is spending time with. John B Keane BooksTop Next Book & Author Maeve KellyA Life of Her Own by Maeve KellyMaeve Kely has been one or Ireland's most prolific writers with stories regularly appearing in "New Irish Writing" along with her published poetry. Maeve Kelly BooksTop Next Book & Author Adrian KennyFeast of Michaelmas by Adrian-KennyDr.Smith`s School for Protestant Boys is situated in the West of Ireland.It is a cultural Limbo, a place which has outlived its usefulness, and which is now falling comically asunder.Caught between a future without real possibilities and a past which is a mere idealised memory, staff and pupils busy themselves with strange alliances and subterfuge.In a world of orchards, staff-room meetings, Divinity Exams, Latin Primers, hunts and festivities, an impressive gallery of characters act their many parts.But the play must end. Adrian Kenny BooksTop Next Book & Author Marian KeyesWatermelon by Marian-KeyesJames leaves Claire on the day she is having her first baby.She moves home to her parents to recover.She does it well.When James finally comes back things have changed. Marian Keyes BooksTop Next Book & Author Kevin KielyMere Mortals by Kevin-KielyDeafened by the music of the spheres, Justin Howlin, academic ad absurdum, staggers from crisis to crisis in this comic epic of failure. Kevin Kiely BooksTop Next Book & Author Mary A LarkinBest Laid Plans by Mary A LarkinIn Belfast an upcoming concert by the Rolling Stones disrupts the lives of Tess Maguire and Agnes Quinn more than they could have bargained for. Mary A Larkin BooksTop Next Book & Author Mary LavinTales From Bective Bridge by Mary LavinThis collection of short stories was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Mary Lavin has since consolidated her reputation with other collections. Mary Lavin BooksTop Next Book & Author Maurice LeitchPoor Lazarus by Maurice LeitchAlbert Yar is in a predicament, he is a Protestant in Ballyboe which is overwhealmingly Catholic.It is literally driving him insane.He has an incident and collapses.Resuscitated by a film producer, he is persuaded to help the producer to make a documentary.This only exasperates his condition. Maurice Leitch BooksTop Next Book & Author Morgan Llywelyn1916 by Morgan LlywelynNed Halloran has lost both his parents and nearly his own life on the Titanic.Determined to keep what little he has he returns to Ireland and enrolls in St. Enda`s school in Dublin. ST. Enda`S headmaster is Padraig Pearse, the renowned scholar and poet, who went on to greater fame as a patriot and rebel.Ned has become embroiled in the events of that Easter weekend and it is his narrative which produces the backdrop for the story here. Morgan Llywelyn BooksTop Next Book & Author Liam LynchShell, Sea Shell by Liam LynchThis is the story of a young Jewish girl distraught by tragedy and forced to move about in search of refuge. Liam Lynch BooksTop Next Book & Author Walter MackenSeek the Fair Land by Walter MackenCromwell's men have ravaged the country.Dominic MacMahon has lost his wife in the massacre and he brings his daughter and his son in search of peace and freedom. Walter Macken BooksTop Next Book & Author Bernard MacLavertyAnatomy School by Bernard MacLavertyMartin Brennan is a troubled boy living in troubled times, a boy who knows all of the questions but none of the answers.This is Belfast in the late sixties.Before he can become an adult, Martin must unravel the sacred and contradictory mysteries of religion, science and sex, he must learn the value of friendship; but most of all he must pass his exams - at any cost. Bernard MacLaverty BooksTop Next Book & Author Bryan MacMahonTallystick and Other Stories by Bryan MacMahonBryan McMahon is a master chronicler of the Ireland in the first half of the twentieth century.In these 17 stories he captivates just what rural life in Ireland was all about. Bryan MacMahon BooksTop Next Book & Author Francis MacManusMen Withering by Francis MacManusMen Withering is the third volume of a trilogy centred around the life of the famous Irish Poet, Donnacha Ruadh Mac Conmara. Francis MacManus BooksTop Next Book & Author Aidan MathewsLipstick on the Host by Aidan MathewsAll of Aidan Matthews`s stories take their frail and passionately wrong-headed narrators over the edge into the obscene and its sacrilegious. Aidan Mathews BooksTop Next Book & Author J Ardle McArdleClosing Time by J Ardle McArdleAn Irish tale of goings on after the pub has closed, locking the public out, or in. J Ardle McArdle BooksTop Next Book & Author Patrick McCabeThe Dead School by Patrick McCabeMalachy Dudgeon has escaped his dysfunctional upbringings and found himself teaching in the best school in the country.The headmaster of the school, Raphael Bell has also overcome a tragic situation to find a great career.But when the two meet the combination speels disaster to their fortunes and their wellbeing. Patrick McCabe BooksTop Next Book & Author Colum McCannSongdogs by Colum McCannColum McCann's first novel deals with the disappearance of a mother and the legacy left behind for her son. Colum McCann BooksTop Next Book & Author Mary McCarthyCrescendo by Mary McCarthyMichelle Bolger is a woman in control - but a sinister force lurks outside the charmed circle of her life. Mary McCarthy BooksTop Next Book & Author Eugene McEldowneyThe Faloorie Man by Eugene McEldowneyThis story is of a protected child going out to the world and finding out for himself the rigours of life. Eugene McEldowney BooksTop Next Book & Author John McGahernBarracks by John McGahernElizabeth Reagan is a fighter and her circumstances require her to be one.Her husband is locked in servitude to a demanding job, her children are not her own, and her will is elsewhere, so she faces a battle to hold on to her sanity in claustrophobic surroundings. John McGahern BooksTop Next Book & Author Anna McPartlinPack Up the Moon by Anna McPartlinThis story is of a protected child going out to the world and finding out for himself the rigours of life. Anna McPartlin BooksTop Next Book & Author John Mary MeagherA Bluebell in a Quarry by John Mary MeagherThis novel is set in Tipperary in the 1950's.It challenges the traditional view of religion and politics the authenticity of the 'just war'. John Mary Meagher BooksTop Next Book & Author Brian MooreThe Great Victorian Collection by Brian MooreAnthony Maloney has a dream that a Victorian Market has appeared opposite his hotel.When he wakes he is surprised to find that this has just happened. Brian Moore BooksTop Next Book & Author Danny MorrisonOn the Back of the Swallow by Danny MorrisonNicky Smith loses his best friend, Robin, when they are both fifteen; from then he sees life through a smeared lens.Until the day he meets Gareth Williams, a bright, rich kid whose vulnerability and brilliance remind him of the dead Robin.A passionate friendship develops between them, a friendship which provokes the crushing forces of wrathful society in all its bitterness. Danny Morrison BooksTop Next Book & Author Val MulkernsAn Idle Woman by Val MulkernsFrom the bitter-sweet nostalgia of reminiscence to the traumas forming the heart`s bane and heart`s ease of the crazy equation that is man and woman, places her firmly in the forefront of contemporary Irish short story writers. Val Mulkerns BooksTop Next Book & Author Liz NugentSkin Deep by Liz NugentCordelia Russell has been living happily on the French Riviera, oblivious to her past, which she put behind a long time ago.Now her past has come to catch up with her and it brings terrors with it. Liz Nugent BooksTop Next Book & Author Ailish O'BreenHalf Brother by Ailish O'BreenTwo children develop an intimate relationship against the backdrop of hatred and hypocrocy surrounding them.But one day they will cometo find that their intimacy is frowned upon by society. Ailish O'Breen BooksTop Next Book & Author Edna O'BrienTime and Tide by Edna O'BrienNell was once one of those country girls with green eyes…now she is trapped in London, in mortal enmity with her husband, sustained only by her two small sons.Edna O`Brien records the crises of Nell`s motherhood, her vital reserves of love and her innocence within. Edna O'Brien BooksTop Next Book & Author Flann O'BrienAt Swim Two Birds by Flann O'BrienFirst published in 1939 it was against the run of play, as you might say.Introducing characters which did not seem to meet the seriousness of the day but it was and would be a classic. Flann O'Brien BooksTop Next Book & Author Ross O'Carroll KellyThe Teenage Dirtbag Years by Ross O'Carroll KellyRoss was put on this earth to make women happy, very happy.He makes goys happy too.He's like the friend you always wished for but couldn't afford. Ross O'Carroll Kelly BooksTop Next Book & Author Gemma O'ConnorFalls the Shadow by Gemma O'ConnorNobody mourned Buller Reynolds.No one; save his small son, Arthur, would never refer to him again except in disgust or in fear or with a stifled, shamefaced guffaw of relief that he had been taken from their midst with so little fuss.If you could call a bullet in the back of the brain little fuss. Gemma O'Connor BooksTop Next Book & Author Joseph O'ConnorCowboys and Indians by Joseph O'ConnorAll alone, with only his electric guitar and his overactive ego for company, Eddie Virago, proud owner of the last mohican haircut in Dublin, leaves his home town to find fame in the wild world of the London rock scene.A bewildering array of acid-house ravers, saloon-bar revolutionaries,music biz wideboys and media primadonnas all seem so anxious to help Eddie on his way. Joseph O'Connor BooksTop Next Book & Author Tommy Frank O'ConnorPoacher's Apprentice by Tommy Frank O'ConnorCormac MacRua was born after his father had been murdered.So he lived without a father but on his wits. Tommy Frank O'Connor BooksTop Next Book & Author Peadar O'DonnellBig Windows by Peadar O'DonnellTom Manus has wed a woman from one of the islands and brought her to his farm on the mainland.He has incurred the wrath of the local people who do not like this practice. Peadar O'Donnell BooksTop Next Book & Author Julia O'FaolainThe Judas Cloth by Julia O'FaolainThis is a novel about a Pope in crisis which draws parallels to more recent events. Julia O'Faolain BooksTop Next Book & Author Liam O'FlahertyWave and Other Stories by Liam O'FlahertyShort stories by one of Ireland's best writers. Liam O'Flaherty BooksTop Next Book & Author Sheila O'FlanaganAnyone But Him by Sheila O'FlanaganAndie and Jin have to start getting on well with each other as their mother has a new boyfriend. Sheila O'Flanagan BooksTop Next Book & Author Timothy O'GradyMotherland by Timothy O'GradyA man returns to his mother`s rooms to find a scene of dishevelled abandonment.Swirling steam and uprooted plants, chaos everywhere.His mother had disappeared.And now begins the hunt to find her. Timothy O'Grady BooksTop Next Book & Author T P O'MahonyKlondyke Memorial by T P O'MahonyThis epic romp revolves around a ladies lavatory on the banks of the lovely River Lee, and the uproar, outrage, intrigue and shenanigans which erupt when the City Fathers decide to demolish this hallowed edifice. T P O'Mahony BooksTop Next Book & Author Julie ParsonsCourtship Gift by Julie ParsonsCrippled by the sudden, unbearable discovery of huge undisclosed debts, fraud and infidelities stretching back through the entire course of their marriage, Anna is forced to seek refuge- to begin penniless, vulnerable, alone.Which is after all where Matthew wanted her to be, and he would bring her his courtship gift, death and betrayal woven together in a shroud of silk... Julie Parsons BooksTop Next Book & Author Joseph O'NeillNetherland by Joseph O'NeillHans van den Broek is alone in New York after his wife and son returned to London without him.He has noone so he falls back on cricket to try and sort his life out.He meets Chuck who shows him a New York he never knew existed. Joseph O'NeillBooksTop Next Book & Author Glenn PattersonThe International by Glenn PattersonDanny has just got a job as a barman in the International.It was bad luck for his predecesser, getting shot like he did.Things may not quieten down, though. Belfast is a tough place to be in, no doubt about that. Glenn Patterson BooksTop Next Book & Author James PlunkettFarewell Companions by James PlunkettAnd when he walked to school it was a journey through the multiple tiers of a society where tuppence ha`penny looked down on tuppence, while tuppence in turn was a cut above three ha`pence.What your father did for a livelihood was of importance. James Plunkett BooksTop Next Book & Author Terry ProneBlood Brothers Soul Sister by Terry ProneThese vivid and moving stories combine Terry Prone`s ruthless observation with a gentle wit that entangles the reader in the lives of her characters. Terry Prone BooksTop Next Book & Author Deirdre PurcellA Place of Stones by Deirdre PurcellMolly O'Brien, beautiful Irish actress, rose to command the attention of the world from the stages of Dublin, London and New York.Butbehind her glittering success lay a heartache she could not resolve and a longing to return to uncover a family`s tragic secret, buried forever in the island place of stones.. Deirdre Purcell BooksTop Next Book & Author John QuinnGenerations of the Moon by John QuinnIt is 1926.Following the tragic death of their mother, infant twins Brian and Hannah Johnston are separated.Brian is feared by his Catholic mother`s family in Cullyboe, Hannah remains with her Protestant father.Generations of the Moon traces the lives of Brian and Hannah separated by divisions of suspiciun, mistrust,and ultimately hatred. John Quinn BooksTop Next Book & Author Niall QuinnVoyovic Brigitte and Other Stories by Niall QuinnModern stories of drug taking, revolution, migrant workers, prostitution, young men, young women, kindred spirits. Niall Quinn BooksTop Next Book & Author Lar RedmondA Walk in Alien Corn by Lar RedmondThis is a story of an Irishman abroad.And not just anywhere abroad, it is in England the home of the feared oppressors.Working as a skilled tradesman he finds what he expects, injustice and what he does not expect, generosity and love. Lar Redmond BooksTop Next Book & Author Patricia ScanlanCity Woman by Patricia ScanlanContinuing the story of the friendship of three women and their events and happenings. Patricia Scanlan BooksTop Next Book & Author Edith Somerville and Martin RossBig House of Inver by Edith Somerville and Martin RossThis is "the history of one of those minor dynasties that, in Ireland, have risen, and ruled, and rioted, and crashed in ruins" Edith Somerville and Martin Ross BooksTop Next Book & Author Alice TaylorHouse of Memories by Alice TaylorThis is the sequel to Woman of the House and Across the River.Following the unlamented death of his brutish father, Danny tries to rescue the family farm from ruin. Alice Taylor BooksTop Next Book & Author Colm ToibinBrooklyn by Colm ToibinEilis Lacey has left Ireland behind in search of a new life.She lives in a crowded lodging house in Brooklyn.It is the fifties, and she is homesick.She receives news which brings her back to Ireland to face a dilemma she would rather not face. Colm Toibin BooksTop Next Book & Author Maura TreacyScenes From a Country Wedding by Maura TreacyThe varied characters in Maura Treacy`s first novel are a testament of her ability as a writer.Pauline, youngest sister of bridegroom, Desi Heaslip, wanted by her boyfriend Kevin in a way completely alien to her mother`s understanding, Kal, the divorced sister, courted again by elusive Pat MacDenamin: cousin Father Gerry Costello, who finds his vocation crumbling: And the older age group, enjoying the air of freedom and ease against a background of neighbourly, gleeful, scandal-mongering. Maura Treacy BooksTop Next Book & Author William TrevorLove and Summer by William TrevorMIss Connulty notices the stranger come in to town, if nobody else did. She notices everything and when the stranger called Florian develops a relationship with a young girl named Ellie, Miss Connulty is about to take action. William Trevor BooksTop Next Book & Author Anthony C WestFerret Fancier by Anthony C WestSet in a border county just after the Civil War this is the story of a boy who is growing up in a country with many faces and the boy is trying hard to decipher them. Anthony C West BooksTop Next Book & Author Terence de vere WhiteMy Name is Norval by Terence de vere WhiteMiss Kelly was very rich.She entertained, she travelled, she would have liked to be married.She encountered Mr Robinson in a guest house in County Donegal and there was something about him which appealed to Miss Kelly.He told her she reminded him of his mother and the sinister tale of Mr Robinson`s past started to unfold. Terence de vere White BooksTop Next Book & Author W B YeatsFairy And Folk Tales of Ireland by W B YeatsThis volume contains two books of folklore collected and edited by W B Yeats (Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry) and (Irish Fairy Tales) W B Yeats BooksTop