Books about Ireland or by Irish authors

[Rosebud]

Being of Irish descent, I'm always interested in reading books about Ireland or by Irish authors. I thought I'd pass along some of the titles I've read and ask for your recommendations for good books!

Fiction, nonfiction, short stories, poetry... I'm interested in all of it.

[Rosebud]

NON-FICTION

Angela's Ashes: A Memoir
by Frank McCourt
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/068484267X.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Everyone has probably read this book by now (and if not, you really should!). Definitely on my "favorites" list for Ireland-related reading.


The Great Shame: And The Triumph Of The Irish In The English-Speaking World
by Thomas Keneally
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0385476973.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIlitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,32,-59_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

By the author of "Schindler's List," this book is about the forced Irish emigration to Australia via prison boats. I won't lie, it's dense and hard to get though-- there's a lot of material here. But it's also really informative and definitely emotional at times.


Jaywalking with the Irish
by David Monagan
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1740595971.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

From Publishers Weekly:
In 2000, American-born journalist Monagan and his wife packed up their Connecticut house and their three children and returned to their roots in Cork, Ireland. "Why not muster one great adventure before we were worn down with age or savaged by school tuition bills?" Monagan had long adored Ireland, having studied in Dublin and occasionally revisited. His passion remains at the surface of his memoir, yet the Ireland of the present often bears little resemblance to the one of his memory. Monagan recounts enrolling his children in school; watching his wife struggle to find work; trying to blend in at the local pub; and navigating Ireland's byzantine bureaucracy with a light touch. Monagan's story, though, grows dark as his family finds itself at the mercy of teenage hoodlums, and one son has difficulty adjusting to school. The story floats from incident to incident until midway through, when Monagan decides he wants to start a regional magazine. The various characters occasionally blur together, and Monagan skates through his final two years in Cork too quickly, insufficiently tying up loose ends. The writing, however, is frequently mellifluous, offering a glimpse into some of Eire's still-existent magic and delving into the slippery questions of identity that confront most travelers.

[Rosebud]

FICTION

I Am of Irelaunde : A Novel of Patrick and Osian
by Juilene Osborne-McKnight
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0312875673.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Description from Booklist:
Anyone familiar with Ireland knows its patron saint, Patrick, who banished the snakes and Druids from the country. Few have heard the behind-the-scenes story about what happened before the legends. So, Patrick is a Roman captured as a slave when he was a teen. After he escapes, he vows never to return, yet God speaks to him, prompting him to return. As a traveling priest, he grumpily spreads the word of God to the "heathen" Irish, hating every second of it. His band of disciples meets Osian, a poet-warrior of the Fianna, who has been dead for 200 years. Osian shares his stories, challenging Patrick's strident disbelief of magic and disdain for Druids and fairies. As the two become close, and their band of men encounter hardship sharing their beliefs, Patrick is forced to reexamine and strengthen his faith in order to survive. Osborne-McKnight beautifully portrays the intricacies of faith, love, and humanity in this novel.


Four Letters of Love
by Niall Williams
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0446674931.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

From Library Journal:
In a dingy little city in Ireland, civil servant William Coughlin abandons his job and his family because he believes God has commanded him to paint. The son wants to hate his father but cannot, eventually following him into the west of Ireland to try to understand his father's motivations and redeem his life. On an island off the west coast of Ireland, young Isabel blames herself when her gifted little brother falls mysteriously mute and lame, and though she heads to the mainland for schooling- her school teacher father has great dreams for her, expecting her to redeem his life- her guilt and her passionate nature combine to drive her off course. Naturally, these two stories meet and blend beautifully in Williams's lyrical, dreamy first novel, which more than anything else is a meditation on the love, both sacred and profane, that shapes us. Both William and Isabel look for signs from God, and both are disappointed. But there is a miracle at the end that redeems everyone. Readers will find the occasional passage of grievous overwriting that one might expect from a beginner and just as often thoughtful, wonderfully wrought passages that soar and soar. Highly recommended.


A Star Called Henry
by Roddy Doyle
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0140296131.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIlitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,32,-59_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

From Publishers Weekly:
Doyle just gets better and better. After the touching hijinks of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and the poignantly powerful The Woman Who Walked into Walls, he has embarked on nothing less than a trilogy that aims to tell the story of 20th-century Ireland through the life of one man. He is Henry Smart, product of the unlikely union of a teenage buttonmaker and a one-legged murderer, and from the opening lines Doyle has given him an unforgettable voice, fiercely poetic and utterly aware: "She held me but she looked up at her twinkling boy. Poor me beside her, pale and red-eyed, held together by rashes and sores... a shocking substitute for the little Henry who'd been too good for this world, the Henry God had wanted for himself. Poor me." Henry grows into a handsome, healthy, fearless youth, ever mindful of the fearful poverty in which he makes his way, and of his father's dark reputation as a brothel bouncer, killer for hire and scourge of the Dublin police. Only natural, then, that the born rebel should join the fledgling IRA as a teenager and take part in its earliest battles. (The account of the 1916 Easter Rising, the occupation of the GPO and the bloodshed that follows must be one of the boldest and most vivid descriptions of civil strife in a familiar city ever penned.) After that, it's on to higher things for Henry: as a trainer of rebel soldiers, a young man high in the IRA councils, an avid lover of womenAbut also as one who begins to find the ideals of the revolution slipping away into arid opportunism and who, in the closing pages, turns his face toward America. This is history evoked on an intimate and yet earth-shaking scale, with a huge dash of the blarney, some mythical embellishments and a driving narrative that never falters.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
by James Joyce
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142437344.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

My favorite Joyce novel. An Irish classic.

[Rosebud]

NON-FICTION

The Voyage of the Catalpa: A Perilous Journey and Six Irish Rebels' Escape to Freedom
by Peter F. Stevens
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/078670974X.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

From Publishers Weekly:
Truth may routinely be stranger than fiction, but seldom is it as suspenseful as this story of the 1876 rescue of six Irish rebels from Britain's infamous prison colony in Fremantle, Australia, by the American whaling ship Catalpa. Despite its title, the book covers far more than just the rescue ship's voyage, bringing to life the web of political interests and conflicts among Ireland, England and the U.S. toward the end of the 19th century. In his fast-moving narrative, journalist Stevens tells how the six Irish members of the British Armed Forces were recruited and then arrested for treachery because of their allegiance to the rebellious Fenian movement for Irish independence. He describes the ordeal of the Irishmen in prison, as well as the plotting of the clandestine rescue mission, which launched from New Bedford, Mass., and took a year to complete in the face of hostile British forces. The writing is solid if workmanlike. Stevens doesn't shrink from getting into the heads of his subjects, and takes some liberties in reconstructing their thoughts and actions in minute, novelistic detail.


Irish Rebel : John Devoy and America's Fight for Ireland's Freedom
by Terry Golway
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0312199031.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

John Devoy is a figure in "Voyage of the Catalpa," so it made sense to read this afterward. Author Terry Galway is a great biographer, but "Voyage of the Catalpa" is definitely an easier read. I'd only recommend "Irish Rebel" to serious students of Irish history.

[Freckles]

My favorite author of Irish literature is Maeve Binchy.
She writes such warm tales about ireland, family, and love.

[KarenS]

Morgan Llywelyn - always writes about the history of Ireland.

Second the recommendation of Maeve Binchy.

Also several of Nora Roberts' novels take place in Ireland and are well written.

Kraen

[mom_to_zoe]

I loved a book called "Whoredom in Kimmage" by Rosemary Mahoney. It was published in the 90's and is a bit dated now, but still quite relevant. It is about the status of women in Irish society written by an American of Irish descent.

I adore Roddy Doyle. I love the Barrytown trilogy (The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van) as well as Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and A Star Called Henry.

[Lanapoo]

I love all of Father Andrew Greeley's books about Fionnuala Anne McGrail. They are really cool mysteries where Nuala and her boyfriend(and in later books, husband) simultaneously solve a modern mystery along with a mystery that happened in history(usually something to do with Ireland or Irish immigrants in America).

[Goddess Tiff]

On the fiction front, I do love Nora Roberts, especially her Ireland trilogies. Someone already mentioned her. Born in Fire/Born in Ice/Born in Shame is a GREAT trilogy, but my FAVE Ireland trilogy of hers is Jewels of the Sun/Tears of the Moon/Heart of the Sea. A wonderful Irish fiction writer is Maeve Binchy. My favorite book is hers - Circle of Friends. I also love Echoes, and the Glass Lake. She has many other titles too.

[emmjay]

I like reading Irish history too - The Great Shame was excellent.

Some other non-fiction recommendations I have are:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1403960143.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
Wherever Green Is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1403960143/qid=1126066542/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-3071967-5923136?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0385418493.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
How the Irish Saved Civilization (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385418493/qid=1126066665/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-3071967-5923136?v=glance&s=books) (this book is so fascinating)

and

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0349107076.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
The Brendan Voyage (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0349107076/qid=1126066763/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-3071967-5923136?v=glance&s=books)
in which the author retraces the supposed voyage of St. Brendan from Ireland to N. America in the 6th Century, so it isn't totally about Ireland but it does have a lot of historical information and the author starts his voyage from there.

[Rose]

I loved PS I love you & Rosie Dunne by Cecelia Ahern.

[gantry_g]

Erin's Daughters in America by Hasia Diner. A bit academic, but it's an interesting history of Irish women who immigrated to the US in the 19th century. According to the author, Irish women immigrants were unique because they so often chose to make the journey independently of men.

[Sherb]

Marian Keyes writes fun novels along the same veins as Bridget Jones' Diary or Good in Bed by Jennifer Wiener. They all contain Irish women and many are at least partially set in modern-day Ireland.

[AusMarchBride]

I had a bit of a craze on Irish chick-lit a year or two ago. Here's some authors I enjoyed:

Marian Keyes (not "Angels", disliked that one)
Cathy Kelly
Patricia Scanlan
Sheila O'Flanagan
Catherine Alliott
Cecilia Ahern (liked PS I love you, but the new one, Where Rainbows End, not so much, didn't like the email/letters format)

[jen]

Read this one on the plane home from Ireland:

A Monk Swimming: A Memoir
by Malachy McCourt (Franks brother!)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0786884142/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-9962303-7038356#reader-link

..and this is the squel to Angela's Ashes:

Tis, by Frank McCourt
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0684865742/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-9962303-7038356#reader-link

[Rosebud]

Reviving this old thread with some more ideas. These are two short story collections featuring Irish authors & subjects:

Irish Girls About Town: An Anthology of Short Stories

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k284/rosebud03_2006/gossip/irish.jpg

New York Times bestselling authors Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes top an impressive roster of the Emerald Isle's most popular women writers and prove that when it comes to spinning a good yarn, the Irish are the best in the business. Showcasing dazzling wit and remarkable insight in short stories that run the gamut from provocative to poignant, these Irish women will tug at your heartstrings and have you crying with laughter in no time.

Finbar's Hotel: A Novel

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k284/rosebud03_2006/gossip/finbarshotel.jpg

It calls itself a novel, but Finbar's Hotel is really more a collection of related short stories by novelists. Irish writer Dermot Bolger came up with the idea to invite six of his literary colleagues to collaborate on a tale about a decrepit Dublin Hotel on the eve of its demolition. In its prime, Finbar's was a glorious place; now, however, it's the haunt of prostitutes and thieves. A new owner plans to pull it down, but before he does, the seven authors (Bolger, Anne Enright, Joseph O'Connor, Roddy Doyle, Jennifer Johnston, Hugo Hamilton, and Colm Tóibín) imagine for it one last night.

[gumball]

I loved these books by Brendan O'Carrol:

The Mammy - This one is a movie too, although the book is much better
The Chisellers
The Granny
The Young Wan

Also, Fork in the Road by Denis Hamill was really good too.

Trinity & Redemption by Leon Uris are both good reads, pretty long but good.

[nawsgirl]

I don't think I saw this one mentioned yet: Ireland, by Frank Delaney