The best Irish reading list around …
Welcome to the IrishCentral Book Club!
Each month we will pick a new Irish book or a great book by an Irish author and celebrate the amazing ability of the Irish to tell a good story.
With all these fantastic recommendations we’ve created the best Irish Reading List, an updated to-read list of our most loved Irish authors and books.
You can find the full list below which will be updated each month but remember to check out our dedicated Facebook group also to receive further recommendations from our readers.
If you have any further comments, questions for the author, or recommendations for a future IrishCentral Book of the Month, you can email us at [email protected].
IrishCentral Book Club Selections:
May 2018: "My Name is Bridget" by Alison O'Reilly.
June 2018: "Conversations with Friends" by Sally Rooney.
July 2018: "Solar Bones" by Mike McCormack.
August 2018: "All Over Ireland" edited by Deirdre Madden.
September 2018: "Maeve in America" by Maeve Higgins.
October 2018: "The Ninth Hour" by Alice McDermott.
November 2018: "The Witch Elm" by Tana French.
December 2018: “This Land: America, Lost and Found” by Dan Barry.
Looking for Irish book recommendations or to meet with others who share your love for Irish literature? Join IrishCentral’s Book Club on Facebook and enjoy our book-loving community.
January 2019: “The Secrets We Share” by Emma Hannigan.
February 2019: “HELP ME! One Woman's Quest to Find Out if Self-Help Really Can Change Her Life” by Marianne Power.
March 2019: "Strumpet City" by James Plunkett.
April 2019: "When All Is Said" by Anne Griffin.
May 2019: "My Father Left Me Ireland: An American Son's Search for Home" by Michael Brendan Dougherty.
June 2019: "Breaking the Dance" by Clare O’Donohue.
July 2019: "The Great Unexpected" by Dan Mooney.
August 2019: “Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke: An Irish Immigrant Story” by Ellen Alden.
September 2019: "Night Boat to Tangier" by Kevin Barry.
October 2019: "Girl" by Edna O'Brien.
November 2019: "The Ruin" by Dervla McTiernan.
December 2019: "Maureen O’Carroll: A Musical Memoir Of An Irish Immigrant Childhood" by Maureen O'Carroll and Leora O'Carroll.
January 2020: “The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir" by Samantha Power.
March 2020: "The Naked Irish" by Clare O'Dea.
April 2020: A selection of reads from IrishCentral's Book Club.
May 2020: "Grown Ups" by Marian Keyes.
June 2020: "The Weight of Love" by Hilary Fannin.
July 2020: "Jump” by Daniella Moyles.
August 2020: "The Pull of the Stars” by Emma Donoghue.
September 2020: “Thirty-Two Words for Field: Lost Words of the Irish Landscape” by Manchán Magan.
October 2020: "The Hungry Road" by Marita Conlon-McKenna.
November 2020: “After the Silence” by Louise O’Neill.
December 2020: “Old Ireland in Colour” by John Breslin and Dr. Sarah-Anne Buckley.
Looking for Irish book recommendations or to meet with others who share your love for Irish literature? Join IrishCentral’s Book Club on Facebook and enjoy our book-loving community.
January 2021: "Strange Flowers" by Donal Ryan.
February 2021: "Nora" by Nuala O'Connor.
March 2021: "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt.
April 2021: "A Star Called Henry" by Roddy Doyle.
May 2021: “Exciting Times” by Naoise Dolan.
June 2021: “Rememberings” by Sinéad O'Connor.
July 2021: "Home Stretch" by Graham Norton.
August 2021: "The Wild Laughter" by Caoilinn Hughes.
September 2021: “Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?” by Séamas O’Reilly.
October 2021: “Belonging: A Memoir” by Catherine Corless.
November 2021: “Being Irish: 101 Views on Irish Identity Today,” edited by Marie-Claire Logue.
December 2021: “Irish Lives in America” by Liz Evers and Niav Gallagher.
January 2022: “Small Things Like These” by Claire Keegan.
February 2022: “We Don't Know Ourselves” by Fintan O'Toole.
March 2022: “Academy Street” by Mary Costello.
April 2022: “The Troubles with Us: One Belfast Girl on Boys, Bombs and Finding Her Way” by Alix O’Neill.
May 2022: “Hitching for Hope: A Journey into the Heart and Soul of Ireland” by Ruairí McKiernan.
June 2022: “A River in the Trees” by Jacqueline O’Mahony.
July 2021: “The Presidents' Letters: An Unexpected History of Ireland” from Flor MacCarthy.
August 2022: "Skippy Dies" by Paul Murray.
September 2022: "The Last September" by Elizabeth Bowen.
October 2022: “Sweet Liberty - Travels in Irish America” by Joseph O’Connor.
November 2022: "Seven Steeples" by Sara Baume.
December 2022: "We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It: A Memoir of My Irish Boyhood” by Tom Phelan.
Looking for Irish book recommendations or to meet with others who share your love for Irish literature? Join IrishCentral’s Book Club on Facebook and enjoy our book-loving community.
January 2023: "Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story" by Bono.
February 2023: “Bad Bridget - Crime, Mayhem and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women” by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick.
March 2023: “Looking for Jimmy - A Search for Irish America” by Peter Quinn.
April 2023: "The Amusements" by Aingeala Flannery.
May 2023: "The Passenger: Ireland" by various Irish writers.
June 2023: "We Are the Brennans" by Tracey Lange.
July 2023: "The Mammy" by Brendan O'Carroll.
August 2023: “How to Build a Boat” by Elaine Feeney.
September 2023: “My Father's Wake - How the Irish Teach Us to Live, Love, and Die” by Kevin Toolis.
October 2023: "The Home Scar" by Kathleen MacMahon.
November 2023: "Kala" by Colin Walsh.
December 2023: "Poor" by Katriona O'Sullivan.
January 2024: “Topographia Hibernica” by Blindboy Boatclub.
February 2024: "The Grass Ceiling" by Eimear Ryan.
March 2024: “Becoming Irish American -The Making and Remaking of a People from Roanoke to JFK” by Timothy J. Meagher.
April 2024: "Wild Atlantic Women - Walking Ireland’s West Coast” by Gráinne Lyons.
May 2024: "This Is Happiness" by Niall Williams.
June 2024: "A Compendium of Irish Pints: The Culture, Customs and Craic” by Ali Dunworth.
July 2024: "The Ginger Man" by J.P. Donleavy.
August 2024: "Circle of Friends” by Maeve Binchy.
September 2024: "That They May Face the Rising Sun” by John McGahern.
October 2024: "The Gathering" by Anne Enright.
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