Books by Irish Authors

It can be tricky to define exactly who is an Irish author. Many contemporary writers who live outside Ireland are absolutely considered Irish authors. Some authors are hardly associated with Ireland at all, but Ireland might have been important to them. C S Lewis, who was born in Belfast, wrote of “our old Irish mythology” and delighted in the spirit and beauty with which W B Yeats brought it to life.

There are many kinds of Irish author, often drawing their own background, from the gritty setting of Roddy Doyle’s Barrytown trilogy, to the Anglo-Irish landowners wryly observed by Molly Keane in Good Behaviour. The selection below is for an English language readership, but there are also authors who write in Irish (Gaelic), and some — including Brendan Behan, known for his autobiographical novel Borstal Boy — who have published in both English and Irish.

A turbulent history provides plenty of material for Irish authors; take your pick from colonisation, famine, rebellion, a powerful church, sectarian conflict, or rapid social change. Emigration is also a big part of Ireland’s history, and unsurprisingly there is literature — from 1930s Brooklyn in Frank McCourt’s memoir Angela’s Ashes to 1970s Birmingham in Kit de Waal’s The Trick to Time — that explores the Irish immigrant experience.

There are plenty of influential writers in Ireland’s long literary landscape. As well as the classic and modernist icons, there are writers of nonfiction and hybrid styles, but first let’s take a look at some of the contemporary Irish fiction authors that have been recommended here on Five Books.

Contemporary Irish Authors

20th Century Irish Authors

Most readers will have come across Ireland’s Nobel prize-winners at some point: poets W B Yeats and Seamus Heaney, and playwrights George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett. For an in-depth look at Samuel Beckett’s work, go to our interview The Best Samuel Beckett Books. We also have an interview discussing the best of Dublin-born Irish Murdoch’s books. And let’s not forget James Joyce, one of the twentieth century’s most influential writers (and reportedly source of the quotation “life is too short to read bad books”). For much of the 20th century, Ireland had a strict censorship regime which many of its authors fell foul of, including Beckett, Edna O’Brien and Kate O’Brien.

Classic Irish Authors

Satire is considered an integral part of the Irish literary tradition, a prime example being Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Oscar Wilde is probably best known for his witty quips; to explore what he actually wrote, check out our interview on the best Oscar Wilde books. Maria Edgeworth is less famous today, but was a highly successful novelist in her own lifetime; her novel Belinda was one of Jane Austen’s favourites. It is well known that Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, was Irish, but less so that he is part of a tradition of Irish gothic fiction, filled with gloomy castles and suspense. If you enjoy vampire novels, don’t miss Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, which predates Dracula by a quarter of a century.

Nonfiction Books by Irish Authors

We have a range of interviews about Ireland, including on different periods of Irish history, which include many books by Irish authors. Others write on subjects as diverse as football and creative writing, and there are some fantastic memoirs.

Children’s and Young Adult Books by Irish Authors

Some of the best-known Irish authors have written for young people, including Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince. Global household names include Eoin Colfer (of the wildly popular Artemis Fowl series), and Derek Landy (the Skulduggery Pleasant series, which has quite a cult following). Sarah Crossan’s Where the Heart Should Be was picked by our Children’s Editor as one of the best books for teens published in 2024. To explore more books for teens by authors who have a connection with Ireland, check out our interview with retired teacher-librarian Breege O’Brien about books from Ireland’s Great Reads Awards. For younger readers, Oliver Jeffers and Chris Haughton are both internationally acclaimed Irish picture book authors.