Contemporary Irish Authors You Should be Reading
Ireland has blessed the literary world with talents of Joyce, Wilde, Beckett, Shaw, Synge, Yeats, Swift and many more. Those are tough shoes to fill, and fortunately, the Emerald Isle continues to produce a steady crop of skilled storytellers.
We asked our readers to tell us their favorite contemporary Irish authors…
Cecelia Ahern
John Banville
Kevin Barry
Sebastian Barry
Maeve Binchy
Rhys Bowen
Ken Bruen
John Connolly
Frank Delaney
Roddy Doyle
Tana French
Bartholomew Gill
Andrew Greeley
Erin Hart
Felicity Hayes-McCoy
Mary Pat Hyland
Cathy Kelly
Marian Keyes
Morgan Llewellyn
Cormac MacConnell
Roisin McAuley
Adrian McKinty
Anna McPartlin
Dervla Murphy
Paul Murray
Stuart Neville
Edna O’Brien
Brendan O’Carroll
John O’Donoghue
Kevin O’Hara
Joe O’Toole
Alice Taylor
Patrick Taylor
Colm Toibin
Peter Tremayne
William Trevor
Is there an author you think belongs on our list? Add them in the comments below.
A special thanks to Pamela Boyd Shields for requesting we devise this list… and a giant THANK YOU to everyone who contributed their favorites: Judy Arnold, Karen Atherton, Ellen Breen, Liza Bresnan, Diana Doyle, Pam Ellingson, Lisa Griffith, Elizabeth Gunn, Kim Hathaway, Dan Ireland, Lawyermom1, Judy Main, Max, Bob McWalter, Carla Moser, Christy Nicholas,Brighid O’Sullivan, Michele Peltier, Mary Philp, Lynn Roberson, Dana Saretsky, Pat Strain, Susan, Dr. Jessie Voigts, and Joanna Wood.
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Wow! Thanks for compiling this list. Always looking for some good Irish storytelling. So sad that Maeve Binchy passed away last summer. She was one of my wife’s favorite authors.
I forgot a couple. These are transplants – people born elsewhere, but live(d) in Ireland during much of their writing life. Anne McCaffrey, Katherine Kurtz, Kemberlee Shortland.
Hi Corey,
Thanks this is a great list! I see a bunch I haven’t read and some that I had forgotten! I listen to a lot of them as audio books because I am in the car so much. The Stuart Nevelle stories, and Erin Hart are among my favorites too. The narrators of these are great!
Thanks for letting us know about all the good books to read! I’ve read half of the books , but will sure look for the other ones I have not read! I just love the Irish Fireside!
Thanks so much for the list! I’ll be checking out quite a few of these authors. I’d forgotten to add Cecelia Ahern to my list of suggestions, so I’m glad to see her on your list.
Consider Eddie Stack, Clare author: The West, Out of the Bloue, etc. available on Amazon.com Droll, ironic stroies set in the west of Ireland.
I would add Brian McGilloway. Excellent mysteries set on the borders of County Tyrone and County Donegal.
Thank you ever so much for this list of Irish authors. I love Cecelia Ahren, and felt a bit lost when Maeve passed, so this list is super!
Blessings on All…
What a wonderful list of authors! One of my favorites is Sebastian Barry. If you have to chose one of his books go with ‘The Secret Scripture’ . Reading historical fiction, is often the best way to learn while being entertained at the same time.
A wonderful list of Irish authors and their books. Looking forward to reading them and introducing them to the members if the Jane Austin book club here in Ferns, Co. Wexford. I think Felicity Hayes-McCoy and her book ‘The house on an Irish Hillside’ deserves a place in the list of Irish authors and their books.
Mary – Good news. Felicity is already on the list… towards the bottom of the left column
Enjoy!
Hi Corey, Thanks for letting me know. I was looking at it on my mobile and couldn’t see her name. Delighted it is there:)
Two of my favourites missing from the list: Eugene McCabe and Dermot Healy. Both great,but often overlooked (not to say underrated).